A group of citizens in eastern Assam’s Jorhat on Wednesday sought the intervention of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in treatment of people suffering from ailments like heart, diabetes, etc in private and public hospitals.
The citizens led by advocates Rintu Goswami and Gautam Borah, a bank official Nayan Jyoti Sarmah and a social worker Arunjoy Saikia stated through a memorandum that immediate and adequate medical treatment needed to be provided to common public suffering from serious ailments.
The memorandum stated that critically ill patients had died for want of treatment while waiting for the COVID-19 results to be given by the hospital.
The memorandum, sent through the Jorhat deputy commissioner, stated that from various sources it was known that during the ongoing COVID-19 pandèmic period the common people had been deprived of getting immediate and adequate treatment, both in government and private hospitals.
The citizens urged both the chief minister and the health minister to take necessary measures to provide immediate and proper treatment to patients in serious health conditions like in case of heart attack, stroke, accident cases, fire accident victims and other ailments of grave nature without waiting for the COVID-19 test results, both in private and government hospitals.
The memorandum mentioned that the medical treatment for the patients with serious ailments and other emergency cases should be available round-the-clock.
The memorandum also sought setting up of separate units or wards in both government and private hospitais for COVID-19 positive and negative patients so that everyone should get the required treatment.
Separate ICU and ventilator facility be provided to non-COVID patients and Rapid Antigen Test facility, if necessary, be provided in both private and government hospitals, so everyone gets the required treatment, the memorandum said.
The memorandum also suggested that attendants, family members or friends of patients be permitted to move freely for medical purpose and to that effect necessary steps should be taken.
The copy of the memorandum has been also sent to the state chief secretary.