Plea in HC claims AIIMS pharmacy not providing medication to non-Covid-19 patients

The Delhi High Court Tuesday sought the Centre's response on a plea claiming that outstation non-coronavirus patients who had come for treatment at AIIMS are not being provided medication from the hospital's pharmacy anymore due to the lockdown.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar issued notice to the Centre and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) seeking their stand on the petition which wants medications for these patients till the time the lockdown continues.

The plea said the patients had come to Delhi for treatment at AIIMS and were presently living in night shelters in the national capital.

The petition claimed that on account of the Covid-19 pandemic, these patients are not being provided medication that they were earlier receiving from the AIIMS pharmacy which is allegedly non-functional.

AIIMS, during the hearing via video conferencing, told the court that its pharmacy was functional but in a limited way as most of its staff was not able to come to work due to the lockdown.

However, medicines for cancer and AIDS patients were being distributed from the pharmacy, the hospital said and sought time to file a reply in the matter.

The bench, thereafter, tagged the matter with another similar plea and listed it for hearing on May 8.

The other matter was also filed on behalf of outstation patients who had come to AIIMS for treatment, alleging they were denied treatment at hospital after the Covid-19 outbreak.

It has also sought free-of-cost medical treatment for these patients.