Karnataka Govt serves notice to 2 pvt hospitals for not admitting COVID patients; warn others
Bengaluru: Cracking the whip against a few private hospitals and medical colleges for refusing admission to COVID-19 patients, the Karnataka government on Tuesday served notices to two of them and said it would initiate criminal proceedings.
"Despite many rounds of meetings with private hospitals to join hands with the government in treating COVID-19 patients, a few hospitals continue to refuse admission," Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar told reporters here.
"Two private hospitals, Apollo Jayanagar and Vikram Hospital have been served notices and their Out Patient Departments have been ordered to be shut for two days as per the Disaster Management Act and Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act. We will initiate criminal proceedings against them," he said.
The Minister said strict action would be taken against private hospitals, including the filing of criminal cases if they were found charging more than the government capped prices.
He said private hospitals should respect the law and refrain from exploiting people by charging exorbitant prices.
He cited the case of a hospital which he however did not name, as having billed a COVID-19 patient Rs nine lakh.
The Minister said he had held a meeting with 25 private medical colleges, who had not yet established COVID testing labs.
"These private medical colleges assured the government that they would start labs within 10 days. Notices have been issued to two private medical colleges - SDUMC, Kolar, and Siddartha Medical College, Tumakuru.
He said a minimum of 500 tests would have to be conducted each day in a lab in the coming days.
"Three hospitals -- Sapthagiri Hospital, BGS Hospital, and Dr.Ambedkar Hospital -- have not reserved their quota of beds and have said they will do so in two or three days," he said.
The government also decided to pay a risk allowance of Rs 10,000 for the next six months, together with salaries, to Group D health department employees working in COVID wards, COVID care centers, swab collection centers, and fever clinics.
The minister said a dashboard has been created where the public can view real-time data about the availability of beds in hospitals in Bengaluru.
He said 1,419 posts of nurses, 506 lab technicians, 916 pharmacists, and D-group positions are vacant.
Deputy Commissioners have been authorized to appoint them on contract basis or sub-contract basis for six months, he added.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
