Eschew VIP culture: Madras HC to Tamil Nadu

The Madras high court has ordered eschewing of culture and making treatment facilities available for all patients without considering their status. “Ensure facilities are available to citizens without consideration of status or the like of the patient or her relatives,” a division bench led by Chief Justice Sanjeeb Banerjee of the Madras High Court said in its order. The order came on a case pertaining to TN and Puducherry’s preparedness for surge in Covid-19.

“It appears from figures furnished by the state and submission on behalf of several persons that though the number of beds and other facilities may be just about adequate at the moment, considering the number of cases that may be added even at the present rate, the figures would double in less than ten days and more beds, more oxygen and more ventilators would be necessary along with a greater supply of medicines to treat the symptoms,” the Madras HC said.

In its status report, the Tamil Nadu government conceded Remdesivir was in short supply. The government expressed a fear that in most cases “panic created by relatives of a person afflicted by the virus creates the problem” as without undertaking the screening, patients are directly brought into hospitals and beds are sought. The state said that public interest would be better served if an “element of discretion were exercised” by relatives of the patient.

The state informed the HC that the rate of increase may be falling but persons affected was above 1.15 lakh cases from 80,000 four days ago. The HC said: “Awareness needs to be spread to encourage the rural community to be inoculated and disabuse persons of the reservations harboured in such regard.”