Delhi govt hospitals, private facilities asked to show number of vacant beds at entry gate

The official order comes in the wake of allegations that hospitals have turned away people, who might have been positive, despite beds being available.

A medic looks on at a patient who has shown positive symptoms for coronavirus at an isolation ward | Representational image | PTI

New Delhi: Delhi government hospitals and private facilities here will now have to prominently display information about the availability of beds on a flex board at their main gates, according to an official order Tuesday.

It comes in the wake of several families, whose members may have been a positive or suspected case of Covid-19, alleging that they were turned away by various hospitals despite beds being available.

The order says, the decision has been taken to provide first-hand information to people about the position of vacant beds in the city government hospitals and private facilities.

The flex board should be of dimension 12 ft by 10 ft and placed at the entry gate of all such hospitals, it said.

The matter on the boards to be displayed by hospitals, having a capacity of 50 beds or more, shall be in both English and Hindi.

The text on the boards shall include information about the Delhi Corona App and the address of Delhi Fights Corona website so that people can check the availability of beds, the order said.

The board should also display that if a hospital refuses bed despite the app showing availability, a complaint can be filed on helpline 1031, according to the order.