Delhi Medical Association slams CM Kejriwal, says his warning demoralises doctors

Slamming Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Medical Association (DMA) on Sunday said that his 'warning' to private hospitals demoralises the doctors and is highly condemnable. 

In a statement, the Delhi Medical Association condemned the FIR filed against the authorities of the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, a leading private facility that has been charged with 'violating rules for registering coronavirus tests.' 

"Delhi Medical Association strongly condemns the way Delhi CM (chief minister) is warning the doctors and threatening the hospitals about COVID-19 patients' admissions and tests. Doctors who are serving the people of Delhi tirelessly from last two months in this pandemic crisis risking their lives feel insulted by the way they are being treated," it said.

"Hospitals are backbone of healthcare and are serving the patients COVID or non-COVID," the DMA added, and alleged, "they are being penalised and government instead of praising their efforts is issuing new diktats daily. Doctors of Delhi are already overworked and overstressed in this hour of pandemic crisis and the state government is unnecessarily putting pressure on healthcare systems.

The medical body also demanded a coordination committee for medical professionals and the Delhi government; adequate testing facilities; smoother patient transfers and cremations; and nodal officers for overall coordination of COVID-19 care, the statement said.

Till Saturday, Delhi has recorded over 27,500 coronavirus cases while the death toll due to the disease mounted to 761.

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Kejriwal's warning to private hospitals

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday warned private hospitals against refusing to treat accident and Covid patients in the city. Kejriwal said despite a scheme launched by the AAP dispensation in February 2018, under which the Delhi government bears all expenses of treatment on such patients, some hospitals were refusing to treat them.

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said that he on Tuesday held a meeting with representatives of privates hospitals, which assured him of full cooperation in implementing the scheme. He said there is also a Supreme Court order according to which no hospital can refuse to treat accident victims. The Delhi government will depute medical professionals at all hospitals who will update availability of beds for coronavirus patients at an official app and ensure admission of such patients, he added.

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