New Delhi: The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will discuss a possible fixed price ceiling for private hospitals and ambulances when it meets next week to discuss the national capital’s worsening Covid-19 situation, ThePrint has learnt.
The plan follows allegations that private hospitals and ambulances have been overcharging patients amid the ongoing pandemic. The meeting will be held Tuesday.
Delhi Lt-Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal will chair the DDMA meeting. The DDMA is constituted under the chairmanship of the L-G and the chief minister serves as vice-chairman.
According to the agenda of the meeting, accessed by ThePrint, the subjects to be discussed include “fixing price ceiling for treatment by private hospitals as some of them are charging exorbitant price and seeking huge advance”.
Other subjects to be discussed include reducing the prices being charged by private labs for Covid-19 tests to make them affordable for the general public.
The agenda states that the meeting will “also explore drive-thru Covid test labs”, possibly with a view to widen testing. Wider testing is believed to be the key factor in controlling coronavirus infections.
Other participants at the meeting are expected to include Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, the Delhi chief secretary, the Delhi police commissioner, and the joint secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
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Surging incidence
ThePrint had reported earlier Saturday that the Lt-Governor will be convening a meeting to discuss issues related to coronavirus and tackling the pandemic. The meeting was earlier believed to be scheduled for Monday, but it will be held a day later.
The other subjects on the agenda include exploring the possibility of converting large blocks of vacant government flats into makeshift Covid hospitals and medical facilities to meet the demand stemming from surging incidence.
On Friday, the daily count of positive cases in the city crossed the 2,000 mark for the first time. Delhi has so far recorded 38,958 Covid-19 cases, of whom 14,945 have recovered.
The capital has the third highest share of coronavirus cases in India and projections show the curve is still far from reaching its peak. Its hospitals have been struggling to cope with the stress and there are fears of community transmission having set in, with the Delhi government admitting that it doesn’t know the source of nearly half the infections.
According to a senior Delhi government officer, among other things, the DDMA wants to look into the possibility of developing large temporary hospitals with a contactless treatment system, “on the lines of the NSCI dome at Worli in Mumbai”.
A second officer said another idea on the table is fashioning makeshift treatment centres out of community centres.
“The DDMA will also deliberate on extending powers to resident welfare associations (RWAs) and providing them with medical equipment such as oximeters, oxygen cylinders if the community centres are transformed into treatment facilities,” said the second officer. For this, the RWAs will also be provided beds and primary healthcare training, the officer added.
The DDMA, the agenda suggests, will also look into making provisions for setting up temporary crematoriums and makeshift mortuaries on the hospital campus with air-conditioned containers and bunk-bed-type arrangements.
“The L-G will also examine and make an assessment of the requirement, and devise an action plan for the recruitment of medical personnel to meet any projected shortfall,” one of two officials quoted above said.
The DDMA will also examine a proposal to provide “round-the-clock telemedicine facility” through a panel of government and private doctors.
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