Thread by @barandbench

The Karnataka HC to shortly hear a case registered suo motu after it received two letters highlighting various difficulties faced by COVID-19 positive patients in the State.

CJ Abhay Oka and Justice Aravind Kumar will hear the matter

#COVIDEmergency2021
#COVID19India

Bench assembles.

Bench : Tell us on availability of beds. Between last date and today, is there an increase in number of beds?

#COVIDEmergency
#COVIDEmergency

Bench: Can they increase facilities? They are huge establishments

Centre counsel: They (Army and Airforce) also have limited facilities. It is not done in Karnataka, done in north eastern states.

Bench: We are only interested in Karnataka, not other states

#COVID19India

Court is informed 300 beds (with oxygen) of Railways is not in use.

Court: There 300 beds and nobody is using it.
We will ask BBMP to take over the facility. What do you (BBMP) say?

Court: I'll take instructions

#COVIDEmergency

Bench: Between April 27 and today, only 29 ICU beds increased. Nu,ber od cases gone over 22k.

AG Prabhuling Navadgi: Percentage of persons who require hospitalization is only 1 percent. Those, who test positive should remain calm. Will be impossible if everyone runs to hospitals

Bench: But at any point, in Bengaluru, there are not more than 100 beds available. The facts is that those who are advised hospitalization are not getting beds.

Bench: BBMP should take over facility of railways which has 300 vacant beds. That will solve many problems.

Army does not have any facility (in belgavi). Command Hospital full.

HC: Army has capacity to create more facilities in situation of Disasters like Floods. Their Doctors and others can work Govt. Facilities can be shared.

#COVIDEmergency

Bench: How many beds are vacant now in the State?

BBMP Counsel: 1730, HDU - 121, ICU with ventilator - 14, ICU - 30

Bench: ICU with ventilator only 14?

#KarnatakaFightsCorona
#COVID19India

BBMP: Some hospitals dont have help desk and we have fined them.

Adv Clifton submits that vacancy of beds shown in website and ground reality is different.

Court: Have you complied with our previous order? Have you published info on remdesivir?

#COVIDEmergency

Bench: ....What is your reluctance in publishing data on remdesivir...If you are making a tall claim of remdesivir available in the city, you should publish it.

State counsel, Adv Vikram: Sometimes hospitals administer remdesivir even when it is not needed.

State: Remdesivir is available in govt hospitals. The demand raised by them is met by govt. State is monitoring it.

Bench: We will tell you this. A sitting Judge of the HC sent message to Registrar General that he is not getting remdesivir.

State: There is a national and state plan for monitoring levels of remdesivir. One state cannot fall short. There is a limit for us.

Bench: Can people buy Remdesivir from private players?

State: No.

#COVID19India

Bench: Some hospital tell patient to get remdesivir, where will they get it from?

State: It will be routed through the State. Private stockist cannot sell it, it have to be routed through us. Warroom is monitoring the supply

Bench: What is hospital tell the patient to get medicine, from where should he get it? We are talking strictly with regard to Article 21.

HC to PHANA: Are private hospitals not telling patients to procure Remdesivir?

PHANA: Only 25% of patients get Remdesivir. We give it to critically ill patients in ICU. Others, pressure doctors to give prescriptions to get it by themselves.

We don't force patients/relatives to get remdesivir.

#COVID19India

Bench (internally) 75% of the patients not getting Remdesivir. That is what he is saying.

(to PHANA) : Can we record your statement that only 25% of the demand is getting the medicine?

PHANA: Yes

Bench: Can we record your statement that none of the private hospitals ask relatives to get medicine?

PHANA: As of today, Bengaluru has around 18,000 patients admitted in Hospitals. Demand is approx 3 lakh for a month for Remdesivir. But State gets only 1.82 lakh vials.

State: Current stock availability is 38,420 vials. Orders have been placed for 80,000 vials, out of which 73,000 vials have been delivered by 3 diff manufactures.

The remaining will be done in 3-4 days.

#COVID19India

Bench: Are you putting real-time updates on the availability of beds and helpdesk....We are already passed order

PHANA: No, milords

Bench: Why?

#COVID19India

PHANA: We are going to come with our own portal with real-time updates on beds vacancy. We will be live by tomorrow.

Bench: Are there instances where patients are sent to you by BBMP and State Govt, but you are refusing?

PHANA: No, we have nodal officer in every hospital. We are not denying admission.
We have a helpdesk in all hospitals except for the small ones.

State; Request them to be more co-operative with the State govt

PHANA: We are with the government

Bench: Tell us an estimate of quantity you need of Remdesivir in coming days. All this is happening because of lack of preparedness under the Disaster Management Act.

We were not prepared to deal with the second wave...

#COVID19India
#COVID19

State: Manufacturing of Remdesivir was stopped in November.

Court: You estimate demand for Remdesivir for next 10 days.

Justice Kumar: Did you see what a chief medical officer for Victoria Hospital told? It is going viral...He is saying Remdesivir should not be given

AG for State: There are conflicting opinions on Remdesivir. But he should not have said that. ...

Court: If you are controlling orders of Remdesivir of private hospitals, there has to be some rationale.

#COVID19

Adv GR Mohan: There is discrimination in private hospitals, they decide to whom the medicine should be given...

Adv Vidyulatha suggests that there should be a public portal showing supply for Remdesivir. Hospitals should upload on the requirement, per patient wise.

#COVID19

Senior Adv Jayna Kothari: If there is a shortage of Remdesivir, Govt has to make an assessment of the need and accordingly provide medicine. It ultimately comes under Right to Life.

Bench: They (State) must make an assessment of the Oxygen requirement and Remdesivir.

#COVID19

Adv Clifton: State govt will have to make beds available. there is no magic wand to make available beds as numbers are increasing every day..

Bench: State of preparedness which is the basic feature of the Disaster Management Act, was not there.

#COVID19

ORDER:

Bench: Before we go into the issue, it is important to remind Centre and State and other agencies to fulfill their obligations to preserve the Right to life under Article 21.

Today we are dealing with extra ordinary situation. Those who are infected look up to State to provide them with best possible treatment and healthcare. COVID is such a disease that requires specialised treatment : Bench

#COVID19

Necessary for us to remind Centre and State, it is their obligation to provide best possible treatment to all. They are ultimately dealing with Fundamental Right of Right of Life : Bench

#COVID19

Only marginal increase in number of beds : Bench

South Western Railway is able to provide 300 beds with oxygen in Bangalore and Hubli. We direct BBMP and State to take immediate steps to contact officers and take over all beds which can be made available for people : Bench

Similar steps to be taken in Mysuru and Hubli : Bench

State to hold immediately hold meeting with Army and Air force officers. Hope they go out of the way in creating large number of beds : Bench

#COVID19

Principles laid down in DM Act, all authorities under Act are under obligation to be in state of preparedness for dealing with disaster : Bench

#COVID19

Bench: State will have to be in state of preparedness by keeping estimate of beds reqd in Bengaluru and other districts. Unless they do so, may not be possible to give real relief. State to place on record the steps taken to estimate beds and enhance the capacity of beds.

Already we have issued directions to set up an information help desk in hospitals.

State to immediately report the implementation of the same. It should deal with grievances of non-availability of beds: Bench

Remdesivir

State to place on record the criteria for restricting demand of private hospitals. There has to be rational criteria that stand test of Art 14 : Bench

We direct State to make estimate of quantum of vials of Remdesivir in all hospitals and 50% beds in and submit requisition to Centre.

Direct Centre to consider the request of State for increasing allocation of remdesivir to Karnataka and take decision immediately : Bench

State and BBMP to display contact number of Deputy Drugs Controller outside the helpdesk of every hospital so that relatives can get Remdesivir: Bench

#COVID19

Max utilization of Oxygen in Karnataka is 802 MT per day? Bench

State: Karnataka has massive supply of oxygen as against demand. But Centre decides on how much is to be used. If there is excess, we are directed to give to other states.

#COVID19

Bench: Can you send requisition to Centre to allocate more? Past week, one day the requirement of 1400 MT

Centre: We will certainly consider it

Contin.... of ORDER

Bench: State to immediately submit requisition setting out the projected requirement of Oxygen, at least for the coming 7 days.

We direct Centre to take a decision immediately.

#COVID19
#OxygenShortage

Bench: Decision of Centre in increasing cap of Remdesivir and oxygen to be submitted by May 3.

#REMDESIVIR
#OxygenShortage
#COVID19

Orders ends.

Clifton: Centre may be directed to consider the requisition positively.

Bench: We have mentioned if they do not do so, then it is violation of the Right to Life...

#REMDESIVIR
#OxygenShortage
#COVID19

Bench: We are not saying anything in the order, but someday, some citizen will go to Court to seek public law remedy for violation of Rights.

#REMDESIVIR
#OxygenShortage
#COVID19

Bench questions State on provisions of Food Security, Ration kits, unorganised labour, Transgenders etc

#COVID19
#foodsecurity
#Rationkits
#transgender

Bench to State: Find out what benefit can be extended
Mr Clifton, Madam Kothari, Find out which sectors are most affected and inform us. We will pass orders accordingly.

Issue of food security, relief to workers will require urgent attention. AG stated that on Saturday there will be meeting on Saturday to discuss issues. Effect of Lockdown on weaker sections of the society on unorganised labour will have to be assessed : Bench

It will be appropriate if AG convenes a meeting of various stakeholders so that State can assess situation on this class of the society. State to come out with concrete steps t help weaker sections of society by providing ration etc. : Bench

Those who do not have to be hospitalized but have no isolation facilities, will have to be encouraged to utilize COVID-19 centres.

State and BBMP to consider making available COVID-19 centres for those patients who do not require hospitalisation : Bench

#COVID19

Before we part with order, we must clarify, we have passed stringent orders against State.
We must clarify that there are several officers of state, doctors, nurses have done excellent job which needs to be appreciated : Bench

#COVID19
#COVIDEmergency

We must record our appreciation for efforts made by stakeholders in right direction : Bench

#COVID19
#COVIDEmergency

In our orders, we have emphasized directions for the city of Bengaluru. The said directions have to be implemented in other districts where there is a rise in COVID-19 cases : Bench

#COVID19
#COVIDEmergency

Matter ends.

Bench rises.

#COVID19
#COVIDEmergency