The Uttarakhand High Court issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting the very poor state of affairs existing in the B.D. Pandey District Hospital, Nainital.
According to the petitioner, the medical facilities in the said hospital are very poor and there are hardly any specialists available in the hospital. There is not a single cardiologist working in the hospital. Various medical equipments and machines are lying in disrepair.
“Even our experience is that if there is a medical complication reported by a patient, he is immediately referred to a hospital in Haldwani, or elsewhere”, said the Division Bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Rakesh Thapliyal.
Considering the fact that the travelling time between Naintal and Haldwani is about 1.30-2.00 hours by road, which is the only way to commute, and the permanent floating population of the town of Nainital, as it is a tourist place, the Bench held that it is absolutely imperative that specialized medical facilities are available in the said hospital in all departments, particularly, in relation to the diseases which threaten our lives.
While issuing notice to the Respondents , the High Court directed the respondents to file the status report with regard to the existing facilities available in different departments of the said Hospital.
The medical doctors, and other staff, which are presently serving in different departments of the said hospital with their respective specialities, should be disclosed. It should also be disclosed as to which of the medical equipments are working, and which are not working, the Bench further directed.
The petitioner has also tendered in the Court a copy of the judgment delivered by the High Court on 20.07.2018, in Writ Petition (PIL) No.12 of 2009, “Deepak Ruwali vs. State of Uttarakhand & others”.
He submits that the direction issued by the Court in Paragraph No.62 has not been complied with at all by the State.
Considering the emergent situation and the danger that the lack of medical facilities poses to the lives of the people in Nainital, the Bench directed the Secretary, Medical Health and Family Welfare, Government of Uttarakhand, Dehradun, to personally remain present in Court on the next date.
We deemed it appropriate to get the local inspection conducted in the B.D. Pandey Hospital. Vikas Bahuguna, lAdvocate is present in Court, and he is requested by the High Court to carry out the Commission.
He is directed to visit the said hospital, and submit a report with regard to its existing condition. He shall be granted access in all the areas by the hospital administration, to inspect and furnish a report before the High Court. He shall take photographs for better appreciation of the situation by the High Court.