Skip to main content

Law Relating To Emergency Medical Aid To Citizens In India

 The present situation of Covid-19 Pandemic in India and response of emergency medical services has led

me to try and find out how law can help in providing emergency medical care to patients in future. We

have been witnessing how patients are being refused admission in hospitals despite advised by the

doctor to be hospitalised as they are in critical condition requiring immediate medical attention and

critical care, Thousands of persons have died due to lack of ICU beds and oxygen.

It was the utmost duty of elected government to provide medical aid to its citizens and by not providing

adequate medical aid the valuable right to life as enshrined in our constitution has been violated by

government. It is fundamental right of every citizen under Article 21 of Constitution of India, that no

person can be deprived of his life and personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.

However denying a person in need of immediate medical attention/critical care is nothing but violating

his right to life. To my mind Government is directly responsible for causing death of a person, for failure

to provide adequate medical care.

This leads us to another question, whether Indian government has created any data base of hospitals

and Nursing homes having Intensive Care Units and number of ICU beds in each of them? Whether any

survey has ever been conducted to understand how many critical care hospitals and Intensive Care beds

are required in India proportionate to population in particular states?

If answers to these questions are in affirmative, than another question arise as to what action has been

initiated by government to provide adequate intensive Care Units in each state. It is not only ICU beds

but in case of infectious disease more particularly Air borne infection such as Covid-19, ICU beds in

Negative-pressure isolation room are required. The purpose of negative-pressure room is to confine

pathogens to a single closed environment with direct exhaust of air from the room thereby preventing

the release of patient generated pathogens in to adjacent spaces.

I have not come across any national Health Care Policy implemented by Government of India.Now

coming to law on the subject of providing emergency medical care to a patient. The Hon�ble Supreme

Court of India in case titled as Pt. Paramanand Katara v/s Union of India & others,1989(4) SCC286, for

the first time dealt with the issue of providing medical care to a patient in emergency. It was held by the

apex court that medical aid to an injured person to preserve his life is the obligation of state as well as

doctors. The said case was relating to accident victims who were refused primary medical aid by

hospitals being medico-legal case.

Thereafter another landmark judgment was passed by Hon�ble Supreme Court in case titled as Paschim

Bengal Khet Mazdoor Samiti & others versus State of West Bengal & Another,1996 SCC(4)37. This was a

case where one labourer suffered brain haemorrhage after falling from train. He was taken to Primary

Health Centre, since necessary facilities for treatment were not available at the Primary health Centre,

he was referred by medical officer to nearby Government hospital for better treatment.

The injured Labourer was taken to another hospital where his X-Ray was done and was required to be

admitted immediately for treatment of skull injury. However he was not admitted in the said hospital

due to lack of bed in emergency. The injured was then taken to another hospital in Calcutta but was not

admitted due to lack of bed in hospital. Aggrieved of being denied admission in hospitals for lack of bed

and callous attitude on the part of medical authorities at the various state run hospitals, he filed writ

petition before Hon�ble Supreme Court of India.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Concept of constitutionalism

  Concept of constitutionalism Who Started Constitutionalism? John Locke - The English Bill of Rights is a foundational constitutional document that helped inspire the American Bill of Rights. Political theorist  John Locke  played a huge role in cementing the philosophy of constitutionalism.  Constitution is a written law which describes the structure of Government, the rules according to which the Govt. must work and the boundaries within which the Govt. must work. Constitutionalism   can be defined as the doctrine that governs the legitimacy of government action, and it implies something far more important than the idea of legality that requires official conduct to be in accordance with pre-fixed legal rules. Constitution constitution is the document that contains the basic and fundamental law of the nation, setting out the organization of the government and the principles of the society. Basic norm (or law) of the state; System of integration and organi...
Post a Comment
Read more

business tips

1. Have a clear vision for your business and strive to achieve it. 2. Hire great people and give them ownership in the company. 3. Provide excellent customer service. 4. Establish yourself as an expert in your field. 5. Develop relationships with key suppliers, customers, and partners. 6. Keep track of your finances and invest in marketing and innovation. 7. Utilize digital platforms to reach a larger audience. 8. Take calculated risks and back yourself. 9. Continuously strive to improve your products and services. 10. Make customer satisfaction your priority.
Post a Comment
Read more

Effects of Non-Registration

 Effects of Non-Registration The Companies Act, 2013 evidently highlights that the main essential for any organization to turn into a company is to get itself registered. A company cannot come into existence until it gets registered. But no such obligation has been imposed for firms by the Indian Partnership Act, 1932. If a firm is not registered it does not cease to be called as a firm, it still exists in the eyes law. Certainly, such a big advantage is not absolute but is subjected to a lot of limitations which we will study further. Non-registration of a firm simply means that the business skips the formalities of incorporation and ceases to exist in the eyes of the law. section 58 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 deals with the procedure of incorporation. Likewise, the meaning of non-registration is the exact opposite of registration, meaning when a firm does not go through the procedure of incorporation or start carrying on activities without getting registered. Effects of ...
Post a Comment
Read more