Delhi government initiates legal action against two hospitals for turning away COVID patients

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Sunday initiated legal action against two city hospitals for turning away COVID-19 patients, a day after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal warned them of strict action if found giving wrong information about availability of beds.

The Delhi government has sought legal action against two hospitals, one in south Delhi and another in Janakpuri, for putting out wrong information on availability of COVID beds on the Delhi Corona app, an official statement said. "The hospitals put out information saying that they have COVID beds available but later denied patients, saying no beds were available," it stated.

A government official said that complaints for filing FIRs against the hospitals under the Disaster Management Act have been lodged at concerned police stations. Kejriwal in a review meeting on Saturday directed officials to take stern action against hospitals putting out wrong information about availability of beds.

He had said every hospital should ensure correct information on bed availability on the Delhi government app, and also on LED boards there. The app shows realtime availability of COVID beds in hospitals. It is updated by each concerned hospital. The Delhi government has appointed senior officials at these hospitals to monitor bed availability.

A complaint was received against a South Delhi hospital that it denied admission to the patients claiming no bed were available although the the app showed 239 unoccupied beds there, said the government statement.

The app showed availability of 93 beds at the Janakpuri hospital yet the patients were turned down, it added.