Hospitals cannot insist on COVID-19 test before treatment: Centre

New Delhi, Apr 29: With several private hospitals turning away critical patients or having closed down, the Centre asked states to ensure that the hospitals do not insist on COVID-19 tests for every patient needing medical care.

Union Health Secretary, Preeti Sudan in a letter to the chief secretaries of the states said that the Centre had received reports that many private hospitals were hesitant to provide critical services such as dialysis, blood transfusion, chemotherapy and institutional deliveries even to their regular patients either due to fear of staff contracting the virus or because they were not functioning.

For patients who need these critical services, it must be ensured that all health facilities, especially those in the private sector, continue to be functional, so that such patients do not face any hardship, the letter stated.

Healthcare providers may be advised to take necessary precautions for personal protection, the Health Secretary also said.