Medical Infrastructure In UP 'Delicate, Fragile & Debilitated': Allahabad High Court Suggests Measures For Improvement

A Division Bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar also observed,

"So far as the medical infrastructure is concerned, in these few months we have realized that in the manner it stands today, it is very delicate, fragile and debilitated"

Further, the Court suggested the following measures and asked the Government to check their viability at the highest level and file a report on the next date:

• All nursing homes should have an oxygen facility on every bed.
• Every nursing home/ hospital which has more than 20 beds should have at least 40 percent beds as Intensive Care Units.
• Of the designated 40 percent; 25 percent should have ventilators, 25 percent should have High Flow Nasal Cannula and 50 percent of the 40 per cent reserved beds should have BiPAP machines. This should be made compulsorily for all the nursing homes/ hospitals in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
• Every nursing home/ hospital which has more than 30 beds should compulsorily have an oxygen production plant.
• In the State of Uttar Pradesh, we find that apart from various Institutes like Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute and the Universities like the King George's Medical University and Banaras Hindu University, we have five more medical colleges in Prayagraj, Agra, Meerut, Kanpur and Gorakhpur.
• These Colleges should have enhanced facilities as are there with the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute within a period of four months.
• Emergency laws should be applied for the acquisition of land for them.
• Funds should be provided to them forthwith so that they graduate from a medical college to an Institute of the standard of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute. For this there should also be given a certain extent of autonomy.

Regarding the medical infrastructure in villages and small urban towns, the Court said that they should be given all kinds of pathology facilities and treatments should be made available in Community Health Centres which are at par to the treatment given by Level-2 hospitals in bigger cities.

Importantly, the Court said,

"If a patient however becomes serious in the rural areas or in small towns then ambulances with all kinds of Intensive Care Unit facilities should be provided so that the patient can be brought to a hospital which has proper medical facilities in a bigger town."

Other measures suggested by the Court

• Every B Grade and C Grade town of the State of Uttar Pradesh should be provided with at least 20 ambulances and every village should be provided with at 14 least 2 ambulances having Intensive Care Unit facilities.
• Ambulances should be made available within a period of one month. With these ambulances' patients from smaller towns and villages can be brought to bigger hospitals in bigger towns.

Importantly, the Court asked the Government to not linger this matter and by the next date come up with a definite report as to how this upgradation of Medical Colleges shall be done in four months' time.

Lastly, the Court directed the appointment of Nodal Officers by the District Judges of districts Bijnor, Bahraich, Barabanki, Shrawasti, Jaunpur, Mainpuri, Mau, Aligarh, Etah, Etawah, Firozabad, and Deoria in terms of its order dated 27.04.2021.

The Court has asked them to submit their reports within a week's time in the light of directions contained in its order dated 27.04.2021.

The State respondents have also been directed to give the details relating to the above districts in terms of our order dated 11.05.2021.

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