Lucknow, Oct 16 The Allahabad High Court on Friday directed the Uttar Pradesh government to prepare a comprehensive roadmap to improve neonatal and paediatric treatment facilities in government medical colleges across the state.
The Lucknow bench of the court clarified that the roadmap should not be confined to newborns and children but must also address essential healthcare facilities for all patients, including adequate ventilators and specialised ventilators, besides neonatal and paediatric intensive care units (NNICUs and PICUs).
A division bench comprising Justice Rajan Roy and Justice Manjive Shukla passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Ashutosh Kumar Singh and other connected petitions.
The court directed the state to seek expert suggestions from institutions such as the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) and King George’s Medical University (KGMU) while preparing the roadmap for facilities across 45 government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh, according to the order.
During the hearing, the state government informed the court that the e-Sarathi digital referral platform had been launched as a pilot project in five districts – Etawah, Auraiya, Kannauj, Mainpuri and Firozabad. Under the initiative, the medical college at Saifai has been designated as a referral hospital. The government said the platform would be extended to other districts after assessing the pilot project’s success and incorporating necessary modifications.
The court also sought the state government’s response on why compensation should not be paid to the family of a newborn who died after allegedly failing to receive timely ventilator support, oxygen and specialist medical attention at the Government Autonomous Medical College in Sultanpur.
The court asked the government to consider compensation in light of the facts that emerged during the inquiry into the incident.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on December 10.
(PTI News)
