Make Anti-Hemophillic drug available, HC to govt

New Delhi, Oct 11 (UNI) The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government and its Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to make the life-saving drug Anti-Hemophillic Factor (AHF) available to all patients in the capital.

Pursuant to a Public Interest Litigation filed by an NGO Hemophillia Federation contending that the state policy had no provision to treat such patients, a division bench of court comprising Chief Justice M K Sharma and justice Sanjiv Khanna directed the Delhi Government to set up special facility to treat the Hemophillia patients and provide the drug AHF at the three prominent Government Hospitals in the capital.

In its order last week, the Court directed that the Drug AHF be made available at Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital, Guru Tegh Bahadur hospital and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash hospital. The drug should be given free of cost to families Below the Poverty Line, and only 20 per cent be charged from families having income of more than Rs 2 lakh and 50 per cent from families with income of more than Rs 5 lakh, the court said.

The court has also directed the Central government to implement the recommendations of the committee report and provide treatment to the poor families. The Court directed that if an emergency arose and there was fresh bleeding, all hospitals should provide care to the hemophillic patients.

The PIL had said that hemophillia was a chronic disease whose symptoms included repeated bleeding of the muscles and joints.

Its treatment was very expensive and people with low economic conditions lacked awareness. There was no arrangement in the Government hospitals to treat this disease which led to many deaths.

The Court had appointed a committee comprising senior standing counsel of Delhi government J R Midha as convenor of the committee.

Principal Health Secretary of NCT, Secretary Health of the Union government, Director General, CGHS, and the Director of Health, NCT, are the other members of the committee. The court asked senior advocates Rajeev Mehra, Collin Gonsalves and Venkat Raman to assist the committee from time to time. The Court also directed the Committee to take technical help of doctors to help them frame policies to combat the deadly disease.

UNI