In view of alleged overcharging and fleecing of COVID patients by some private hospitals, the State government decided to implement a three-tier structure for effective implementation of COVID management.
According to a government order (G.O.) issued on Monday, a State-Level Task Force Committee had been constituted to monitor the effective functioning of the District Level Flying Squads and cluster level in-charges and review the complaints received from time to time.
Higher Education Department Special Chief Secretary Satish Chandra has been appointed as Chairman of the Committee and State COVID Command and Control Centre Chairperson and TTD EO K.S. Jawahar Reddy, Vigilance and Enforcement Director General K.V. Rajendranath Reddy, Health, Medical and Family Welfare Principal Secretary Anil Kumar Singhal, Health and Family Welfare Commissioner Katamneni Bhaskar and Drugs Control and Administration Director-General Ravi Shankar were appointed as members.
Flying squads
The District Level Flying Squads would be constituted by the Collector with representatives from Drugs Control Administration, Vigilance and Enforcement Department and Health Department. The squads will inspect the hospitals frequently and ensure that strict action was initiated against hospitals violating the guidelines issued by the government from time to time.
Further, Collectors would form five to eight private hospitals treating COVID patients into clusters and appoint a district-level officer as in-charge for each for thorough inspection of the hospitals and receive complaints from patients. They would conduct inquiry and take appropriate action against the hospitals as per the rules.
