HC terms shortage of staff at govt hospitals in Delhi ‘serious matter’

The Delhi high court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSSB) to speed up the process of filling staff vacancies in state-run hospitals, observing that the shortage of manpower is a “serious matter”.

“Patients are not getting attended to. It’s a very serious matter. Government hospitals are not getting doctors. You will have to speed them up. You must speak to the chairman personally and get them done,” a bench of bench of acting chief justice Manmohan and justice Manmeet PS Arora told advocate Avnish Ahlawat, representing the Delhi government and DSSSB.

The court issued the directions while hearing a suo moto petition on the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) beds with ventilator facilities in hospitals run by the Delhi government, and the functioning of health emergency numbers.

It directed the board to expedite the process after Ahlawat said DSSSB had notified the vacancies and would hold exams within a month. She submitted that the entire process will take approximately two months.

Earlier, on February 13, the court had constituted a committee of experts to assess the medical infrastructure of hospitals in the Capital to suggest ways to improve medical services. The committee, in a 266-page report submitted on April 1, underlined the shortage of critical faculty including radiologists, anaesthesiologists, and critical care and emergency medicine specialists during regular working and emergency hours. The committee also recommended increasing the number of ICU beds in state-run hospitals from 1,058 to 2,028.

In a 145-page supplementary report in July, the committee headed by SK Sarin recommended strengthening operation theatres (OTs), setting up OTs in several hospitals, increasing the number of OTs in existing hospitals and equipping them with all required facilities to ensure provision of smooth and hassle-free emergency medical services.

It further proposed the creation of a Delhi Medical Service Corporation (DMSC) for the uninterrupted supply of medicines, consumables, and equipment, and increasing the current criteria regarding eligibility of free health treatment Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK) scheme from annual income of ₹3 lakh to ₹8 lakh. The committee further recommended the evolution of new mechanisms for hiring private doctors/consultants at government hospitals on a contract/MoU basis, and proposed the creation of a separate cadre of hospital managers, having specialised training and skills related to the management of hospitals.

In April, the high court had directed the Delhi government to adopt measures within a month to hire doctors and procure equipment for hospitals in accordance with the report. The court observed that the model code of conduct, which was in force for the Lok Sabha elections, should not hamper implementation of measures to hire doctors and procure equipment for hospitals in the Capital.

In May, the Delhi health department informed the high court that in order to address the shortage of regular consultants, it had constituted a five-member committee to examine the requirement of specialists/hospital operational staff in various hospitals under it, devising a methodology to pay remuneration to contractual specialists from the private sector.

In its report filed on July 26, the health department stated that during the period June-July, 37 doctors/non-teaching specialists were detailed to various state-run hospitals to ensure the availability of critical/emergency health care specialists. The report also underscored that the department had submitted requisition of all vacant posts of general duty medical officers (GDMOs) to UPSC, and a written exam has since been held for the said post. The selection process was expected to be completed by September 2024.

During the hearing on Tuesday, amicus curiae Ashok Agarwal also drew the court’s attention to a supplementary report by the expert committee, which the court agreed to consider on July 31, the next date of hearing.