Less than a month after the Punjab and Haryana High Court held that providing medical and healthcare facilities to citizens was a “primary concern of the State”, a Division Bench has now emphasised that it expects the State to make every endeavour to ensure availability of the requisite medical services at all district hospitals.Directing Punjab to file an affidavit reporting compliance, the Bench of Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor fixed the matter for further hearing on October 5.“We expect the State to make all endeavours to ensure that the requisite medical facilities are made available in all district hospitals,” the Bench added.The court, on a previous date of hearing, had also directed that the exercise of recruiting required doctors and medical staff was to be carried out to ensure a robust healthcare system.“We may indicate that providing of medical/health facilities to the citizens is a primary concern of the State and no laxity in this regard be appreciated,” the Bench had asserted.It was hearing a public interest litigation concerning the availability and functioning of healthcare facilities in the two States.“We expect that two States will promptly respond to ensure that adequate medical facilities are made functional at the earliest,” the Bench had said.The Court had also made it clear that merely creating healthcare infrastructure would not be sufficient. Operationalising the facilities would necessarily require the appointment of doctors and paramedical personnel. “It goes without saying that the required recruitment of doctors/para medical staff etc. would also be undertaken,” the Court had observed.The Bench had initially questioned Punjab’s decision to outsource CT scan and MRI facilities in a civil hospital after asserting that the State was duty-bound under its sovereign function to provide basic healthcare facilities.The assertions and directions came as the court examined the functioning of Malerkotla Civil Hospital during the hearing on in the public interest litigation filed by Bhisham Kinger.Expressing dissatisfaction, the Bench had asserted: “This court fails to understand as to why a private laboratory is required to be engaged, when the State is duty bound under its sovereign function of providing basic health care facilities, which includes purchase of CT scan and MRI machines, which in present times are necessities of modern time hospital amenities to be available at district as well as sub division level hospitals”.