New Delhi, August 12
Two days after Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad invited private hospitals to help the government with screening, testing and treatment of swine flu patients, private healthcare major Indraprastha Apollo
Hospitals bowed out of the process, becoming the first private facility to refuse such testing.
 |
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Deaths
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17
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Total
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1193
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Fresh
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115
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In an official statement this evening, Apollo authorities said, the hospital was not in a position to provide facilities for H1N1 flu screening, sample collection and in-patient treatment on its campus “for fear of cross infection”.
“We are committed to provide the highest quality of medical care. We would like to do everything possible with respect to the H1N1 pandemic as well. However, we cannot put our patients, many of who are immune-compromised, at risk by exposing them to the infection,” said Apollo authorities. The hospital reasoned out its decision, saying that though the mortality rate of H1N1 cases was 1 per cent in the normal population, it was significantly higher in people who were immune-compromised.
The group, however, said it had offered its laboratories for testing the samples (collected outside its campus) if they met the government standards and specifications.
Already, several private hospitals have been expressing their inability to help with H1N1 testing, citing either lack of equipment and bio-safety levels or simply the exorbitant costs involved in the process. Dr Robil Tickoo of Max hospitals told The Tribune, “We can test, but we would require chemical reagents from the government.”
The government, for its part, admitted today that most private labs did not have testing capacity. Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi said, “Many of the private facilities do not have bio-safety levels-3 required to test for H1N1. They would need time to conform to standards.”
But the government seems clear that private providers cannot wash their hands off the crisis, with joint secretary, health, Vineet Choudhry saying that states
can invoke the provisions of the Epidemic Control Act to involve private testers in the pandemic management, when there is a need.
He said the national capital’s RML hospital was overloaded with samples
yesterday though the situation was now easing out.
In fact, NICD is also running beyond its testing capacity and is sending samples to AIIMS and Vallabh Bhai Chest Institute for results. Doctors in AIIMS said they were working against the capacity.
