Within a week, the Telangana High Court has directed the state government and health agencies to submit comprehensive information about the amenities offered at state-run hospitals. In the course of hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Keethineedi Akhil Sri Guru Teja, the president of the Help the People Charitable Trust, the bench made up of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice J. Sreenivas Rao issued this instruction.
Chikkudu Prabhakar, the petitioner’s attorney, drew attention to serious shortcomings in public hospitals. He maintained that the poor, who depend on these facilities for medical care, receive subpar care because of a shortage of physicians and nurses as well as inadequate infrastructure. The petitioner emphasized that these deficiencies deprive patients of the prompt and high-quality medical care that the Constitution guarantees, highlighting the critical need to improve the infrastructure and services provided by government hospitals.
The bench ordered the authorities to provide a report on a number of particular hospital facility elements in response to these worries. They asked for comprehensive data regarding the availability of consultation rooms, dialysis units, beds in high dependency units (HDUs) and intensive care units (ICUs), as well as special neonatal care units (SNCUs) and neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) in state hospitals. The court also requested information regarding nurse-to-patient ratios, registration and medication dispenser counters, and critical medical equipment, such as CT scans and X-rays.
The justices also asked for information regarding phone numbers, blood bank services, and grievance procedures in all Telangana government hospitals. The court’s concerns over the public’s quality of care and the operating capacity of state-run healthcare facilities are reflected in these probes.
The bench scheduled the next hearing date, October 23, as the deadline for submitting a compliance report. This deadline highlights the court’s dedication to resolving the pressing problems facing Telangana’s healthcare system. The court’s intervention emphasizes how crucial it is to make sure state-run hospitals have the necessary resources to address the demands of the general public, especially the impoverished groups that rely primarily on public healthcare services.
All things considered, this case brings to light important systemic issues facing the healthcare industry as well as the judiciary’s role in pressuring the government to take responsibility and improve health facilities and services.
SOURCE :
TIMES OF INDIA
