HC pulls up Delhi govt over facilities in its hospitals

The Delhi high court on Wednesday pulled up the Delhi government for presenting an “incorrect picture” regarding the functioning of CT scan machines and the availability of beds in its hospitals, saying patients were being denied admission due to lack of essential equipment and beds.

“This data is saying that the CT scan machine is working, while it is not working. We want to help you in fixing things, but it does not seem that you are giving the correct picture. But we want a clear picture. Here everything looks hunky dory. On the ground level, people are being denied admission,” a bench led by acting chief justice Manmohan said to advocate Satyakam who appeared for the Delhi government.

The court was considering an application seeking an investigation into the death of a man who had jumped from a moving police control room van earlier this month and was refused treatment by government hospitals due to non-functioning equipment.

The application filed by amicus curiae Ashok Agarwal said the man was refused admission by four hospitals due to the non-availability of necessary facilities including CT scan, ICU/ventilator beds and the absence of a communication network between the hospitals in the Capital.

During the last hearing, the high court directed the Delhi government to indicate the inventory of the non-functional machines and the timelines by which the same would be repaired or replaced. The court also expressed its intention to direct the health department to ensure the functioning of machines in all the hospitals expeditiously. Advocate Satyakam had submitted that five out of six CT scan machines and 1,059 out of 1,123 ventilators were functional in the 19 hospitals including GTB hospital, Lok Nayak hospital, and Deen Dayal Upadhyay hospital.

A bench also comprising justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora had indicated to constitute an expert committee to assess the situation of the hospitals saying it did not want to enter into a “blame game”.

On Wednesday, advocate Satyakam submitted that the Delhi government was monitoring its health infrastructure to ensure that it is at a similar pace with the growing population and was also opening new facilities at primary, secondary as well as tertiary health care levels. He also submitted that the government was planning to start four hospitals at Siraspur, Madipur, Jwalapuri and Hatasal with a total of 3,237 beds within the next 2-3 years.