The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday asked the Congress Government in Punjab to take immediate steps to control the spread of dengue as well as make arrangements for platelet transfusion facilities, saying the disease had taken the form of an epidemic in Punjab due to the abject failure of the health department.
Former Minister and SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said it was shocking that cases of dengue was most in Patiala, the home district of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Health Minister Brahm Mohindra. “Precious lives are being lost with four deaths being reported from Patiala alone but the Congress Government has not woken up from its slumber and is not doing anything to rectify the situation,” he said in a statement.
The SAD leader said it was unfortunate that patients were being turned away from Government hospitals and were being forced to take expensive treatment in private hospitals and clinics. He asked Health Minister Brahm Mohindra to take stock of the situation and increase the number of to beds allocated dengue patients in all hospitals of the State. “Platelet transfusion facilities also need to be increased on an emergency basis to provide succour to the large number of patients thronging Government hospitals”, he added.
The Akali leader also pointed out that it was clear that adequate measures were not taken to prevent the spread of dengue. The high court has also rapped the State Government for indulging in gross negligence and dereliction of duty by failing to come up with a dengue control programme. He said the Government should order an independent inquiry to fix responsibility for the same and that the inquiry should also inquire whether Health Minister Brahm Mohindra had taken the necessary steps to thwart this tragedy.
Cheema said it was a shame that the Health department had not even made a State control room to monitor dengue cases besides taking a multi dimensional approach to the critical situation by moving doctors and machinery where it was needed the most. Asking the Health department to do this immediately , the former minister said it would have been better if the Health Minister had inspected government hospitals and taken a first-hand report of the situation. “It is still not too late to do this now galvanise the health department so that precious lives can be saved”, he added.