Patna High Court Seeks Details On Health Infrastructure In Bihar From Chief Medical Officers Of All 38 Districts Of State

The Patna High Court on Thursday asked the Chief Medical Officers presently posted in all the 38 districts of Bihar to furnish details regarding health infrastructure in the state.

The bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S. Kumar also directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health, Government of Bihar, and all the Civil Surgeons-cum-Chief Medical Officers shall remain present through virtual mode today.

This direction came from the bench while dealing with a batch of pleas filed in connection with the handling of the COVID situation in the state. Presently, the Court is concerned with the preparedness of the Bihar Government to tackle the possible third wave of the pandemic.

Importantly, the Court wasn't satisfied with the report filed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health, Government of Bihar as the Amicus Curiae pointed towards various contradictions in the report.

In view of this, the Court said that the information with regard to the health infrastructure, be it human resources or otherwise, at the district and sub-division level, has to be furnished, verified, and authenticated firstly by the Civil Surgeons-cum-Chief Medical Officers and thereafter by the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health, Government of Bihar.

Therefore, the Court issued the following directions:

• By tomorrow i.e. 17th of December, 2021, all the Civil Surgeons-cum-Chief Medical Officers, posted in all the 38 districts of Bihar, shall personally verify the information of their respective districts and furnish the same, in a tabular form, through digital mode, to the office of the learned Advocate General, who shall forward the same to the Court Master; 
• Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health, Government of Bihar, and all the Civil Surgeons-cum-Chief Medical Officers shall remain present through virtual mode tomorrow i.e. 17th of December, 2021 at 11:30 A.M.;
• Their particulars are to be furnished to enable the Registry to generate and forward the link for virtual hearing;
• Within the next four working days, the Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Health, Government of Bihar shall, after collecting and collating the information directly from the Civil Surgeons-cum-Chief Medical Officers, file a fresh affidavit indicating the status with regard to the existence of the health infrastructure, be it of human resources or otherwise, in all the districts/sub-division level in the State of Bihar;
• The existence of infrastructure for dealing with the Medical Health issues arising out of the current Pandemic Covid-19 shall be furnished in a separate tabular form.

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