Telangana HC to judge state's logic behind 'Covid tests only at govt hospitals' policy

HYDERABAD: Wondering whether the state has the power to ask its citizens to undergo Covid-19 tests at particular hospitals only, the Telangana high court on Tuesday reserved its orders in a PIL that challenged the decision of the state to confine Covid diagnostic tests and treatment to state-run hospitals only.
The bench of Justice M S Ramachandra Rao and Justice K Lakshman posed several questions to the state while hearing a PIL filed Ganta Jai Kumar of Nacharam in Hyderabad who wanted the court to direct the state to allow eligible private hospitals with requisite facilities to conduct Covid tests. Our people have the freedom and choice to chose their hospital and doctor and asking them to go to government hospitals alone would amount to infringement of their rights, said Peri Prabhakar, the counsel for the petitioner. Those who can afford to go to private hospitals and diagnostic labs, let them go, he said reminding the court that ICMR had allowed 12 private labs in the State of Telangana to conduct Covid tests. But the state has restrained all of them and they cannot do these tests till the state permits them, he said. The bench too observed that as far as facilities are concerned corporate hospitals have better facilities when compared to government hospitals like Osmania and Gandhi. Those who can afford to go to corporate hospitals should be allowed to go and the burden on the state to that extent would get lessened, Prabhakar said.
Conveying the stand of the state, Advocate General BS Prasad informed the court that the state is doing all the Covid tests free of cost in a safe environment. If we allow private hospitals to do these tests, there is a danger of these private hospitals and labs becoming prime sources for spreading Covid-19, the AG said. Because they deal with non-covid patients too, he added. In the current pandemic situation, state and its health machinery are fighting like a warrior to control, contain and prevent the disease, the state counsel said. And there is this danger of abuse of the opportunity at private hospitals, he said. In the coming days, if the state feels that it should take the help of the private sector it would certainly invite them with a condition that the private hospitals must run them as exclusive Covid hospitals and should not admit non-covid patients, AG Prasad said. The test kits are limited. We have conducted 2000 tests and of them, 61 proved to be positive. Among this, 31 patients were referred to Gandhi hospital in Secunderabad. Since the figures are very much within the reach of the state, the private sector need not be permitted, for now, the AG said. The bench reserved its judgment.