The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday said it was re-starting the general OPD (Outpatient Department) services in medical centres and clinics but in a phased manner.
The decision came two days after the Allahabad High Court had asked it to explain the viability of continuing with restrictions imposed on the services in hospitals and nursing homes to treat non-COVID-19 patients.
Considering the “demands of the people,” the services would be started in the primary and community health centres with precautions in place, said Amit Mohan Prasad, Principal Secretary, Health.
The services would not be opened in the district hospitals as it could lead to heavy crowding, he said.
He said private clinics would also be allowed to run the services but under certain conditions.
The government was so far running only emergency services and critical care like surgeries in the government hospitals due to the restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
The State has so far recorded 465 deaths related to COVID-19 while active cases stand at 5,477 with 591 cases in 24 hours, Mr. Prasad said.
With 60.8% recovery rate, 9,239 patients have recovered till date.
A Division Bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and Yashwant Varma on June 15 had asked the State to explain the restrictions on the general OPD.
The order was passed on a PIL filed by the All India Peoples Front (Radical) through its national spokesperson S.R. Darapuri, a retired IPS officer.
The State government had issued notifications on March 23 and May 31 under which the government and the private hospitals as well as nursing homes were restricted from opening the OPD for treating the non-COVID-19 patients except in case of emergency.
The court directed additional Advocate general Manish Goyal to seek instructions on the present state of affairs and about the “viability of continuing with the restrictions”.
The HC also asked if the State government or the C.M.O. would like to revisit the guidelines contained in the two notifications. It listed the matter for June 18.
