[BREAKING] Supreme Court orders audit of Oxygen supplies provided to States; clarifies no intention to scrutinize doctors' good faith decisions

The Supreme Court has ordered the 12-member National Task Force constituted by it to form sub-committees for each State to conduct audit for determining whether the Oxygen supplies allocated by the Union Government reach the concerned State/UT..The Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah, however, clarified that the purpose of conducting audits is not to scrutinise the decisions made in good faith by doctors while treating their patients.Instead, it is to ensure a measure of accountability for the proper distribution of oxygen supplies made available by the Union Government to the States/UTs ."The purpose is to ensure that the supplies which have been allocated are reaching their destination; that they are being made available through the distribution network to the hospitals or, as the case may be, the end users efficiently and on a transparent basis; and to identify bottlenecks or issues in regard to the utilization of oxygen. The purpose of the audit is not to scrutinise the decisions made in good faith by doctors while treating their patients," the Court said. .As per the order, the audits by sub-groups within each State and UT inter alia would be for determining:(a) whether the supplies allocated by the Union Government reach the concerned State/UT;(b) the efficacy of the distribution networks in distributing supplies meant for hospitals, health care institutions and others;(c) whether the available stocks are being distributed on the basis of an effective, transparent and professional mechanism; and(d) accountability in regard to the utilisation of the supplies of oxygen allocated to each State/UT;.The sub-groups/committees constituted by the NTF for each State/UT shall consist of: (i) An officer of the State/UT Government not below the rank of Secretary to the State Government; (ii) An officer of the Union Government not below the rank of Additional/Joint Secretary; (iii) Two medical doctors in the State/UT concerned including at least one with administrative experience of managing the medical facilities of a hospital; and (iv) A representative from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). .Further for carrying out the above audit exercise specially for Delhi, the audit sub-group shall consist of: (i) Dr Randeep Guleria, Professor and Head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine and Sleep, AIIMS; (ii) Dr Sandeep Budhiraja, Clinical Director & Director – Internal Medicine, Max Healthcare; and (iii) An IAS officer, each from the Union Government and GNCTD, not below the rank of Joint Secretary..[BREAKING] Supreme Court sets up National Task Force to streamline oxygen allocation, ensure availability of essential drugs, medicines.The NTF which has medical experts and doctors from across the country as its members will be have Cabinet Secretary to the Union Government as its convenor.The NTF would be specifically addressing issues relating to streamlining Oxygen allocation to different States, reviewing and suggesting measures to ensure availability of essential drugs and medicines and to adopt remedial measures to ensure preparedness for future emergencies.