Maharashtra to suspend licences of doctors who turn away Covid-19 patients

Mumbai: With reports coming in that medical establishments were refusing to treat coronavirus patients, the Maharashtra government today threatened to suspend the licences of such private hospitals and dispensaries.

Minister of state Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar issued a circular stating that the government had received complaints that some private dispensaries and hospitals were refusing to treat patients.
Patil-Yadravkar appealed to the trustees and doctors of private hospitals to provide medical assistance to people in need. He said, “If the hospital finds any infected patient, they should immediately inform the local government health officer.”

With corona cases rising with each passing day, there have been reports of doctors shutting down their clinic. One doctor closed his clinic for an indefinite period after an Italy returnee who had come in for treatment later tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

Dr Abdul Khalique, who runs a clinic in the Kalina area of Santa Cruz, told media the man had landed in Mumbai on March 18 and came to his clinic the next day. “I asked him to get himself checked at the Kasturba Hospital. He came to my clinic again on March 20 and March 21, complaining of cold, cough and body pain,” the doctor said.

“His ill health continued and he got himself tested and he was found to be infected with the novel coronavirus. I got a call from the BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) today inquiring about this patient. I have now shut my clinic, but am worried thinking about whether he has spread the virus to people he met in the last few days,” he said.