District Collector V. Vinay Chand has warned private hospitals of severe legal action if they violate orders issued by the State government.
At a review meeting with managements and coordinators of COVID-19 empanelled private hospitals, Mr. Vinay Chand said that a notification was issued by the government on Thursday categorising 40 private hospitals into ‘A’ and ‘B’.
He called upon the empanelled private hospitals to utilise the experience gained by them last year to provide better services to COVID-19 patients in view of the second wave surge. The Chief Minister was keen on providing free COVID treatment to poor patients, he said.
The Chief Minister had expressed his displeasure at some private hospitals turning away COVID patients, despite the availability of beds. He wanted hospitals indulging in such activities to be closed. The Collector said that health workers were given priority in vaccination and they should now render better services without any fear and work with dedication.
Mr. Vinay Chand said that hospitals should not demand any deposit from the patients. They would be reimbursed by the government as per the rates decided in the past. He also directed that help-desks should be opened at the entrance of the hospitals to provide information to the patients and their relatives.
CCTV cameras should be installed in all the wards and the footage should be sent to the Collectorate and the State COVID Centre from time to time. Private hospitals should get the fire safety audit done, the Collector instructed.
Joint Collectors P. Arun Babu and R. Govinda Rao, GVMC Commissioner G. Srijana, DM&HO P. Suryanarayana, AMC Principal P.V. Sudhakar and ZP CEO Nagarjuna Sagar were among those who attended.
