Emergency medicine shortage hits patients at Delhi’s GTB Hospital

For families already under immense stress, the added burden of sourcing medications outside, coupled with the financial strain associated with it, it’s a breakdown of the safety net that the public healthcare system is meant to provide

Stepping into the emergency ward at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, patients and their families are confronted by an easy to miss sheet of paper pasted near the entrance.

Among the drugs missing at the hospital is Hydrocortisone injection, a steroid essential for treating several conditions such as severe allergic reactions, asthma, arthritis, among others. (HT ARCHIVE)

But the text on it is anything but easy to miss.

It contains a hand-written list of critical medications and supplies currently unavailable within the hospital, a stark preface to the ordeal awaiting patients inside one of Delhi’s largest government-run healthcare facilities.

For almost two months, this list has only grown longer, and with it, the desperation of families who are thrust into a relentless scramble to procure life-saving drugs from outside the hospital, often delaying treatment and imposing a financial burden that many can barely afford.

A shortage of this magnitude, particularly in an emergency ward, is no minor inconvenience. The very nature of an emergency room is urgency — where seconds can make the difference between life and death. Patients arrive here as a last refuge, often with life-threatening conditions. But in their moment of desperation, many are handed a daunting shopping list of drugs and supplies.

Among the drugs missing at the hospital is Hydrocortisone injection, a steroid essential for treating several conditions such as severe allergic reactions, asthma, arthritis, among others. Tramadol, a powerful painkiller used to manage moderate to severe pain in adults, is also missing. Also missing are Trenaxa injections used to treat bleeding and in cases of haemorrhage.

Other unavailable medications include Midazolam, used to produce sleepiness or drowsiness and relieve anxiety before surgery, and Avil, used to control autoimmune response of the body.

The list at the emergency ward also includes injections of Salbutamol (used to relieve symptoms of asthma and COPD), soda bicarbonate (used to treat metabolic acidosis and patients suffering from alcohol poisoning and antidepressant overdose), Amiodarone and Adenosine (both administered to patients with arrhythmia, or irregular heartbeat).

The list of absent supplies even extends to bandages and dynaplast, essential for wound care and muscle support in trauma cases – all vital components for an emergency care ward.

Emergency doctors, both from within the hospital and outside, explain just how critical these drugs are in treating a wide range of conditions.

“Most of these medicines that we are talking here are emergency drugs. If we talk about Hydrocortisone which is an anti-inflammatory drug, the most important drug in an emergency. Similarly, Avil and Midas are also among the other emergency life-saving drugs and lack of them at any emergency unit could lead to a serious repercussion,” said Dr Vikas Mittal, a critical care specialist. “In India, often till the time a patient reaches an emergency, a delay is already caused at multiple levels. If a patient’s family have to run around to get essential medicines, that only will add more risk to the patient’s life,” he said.

When asked about the shortage of medicines at the hospital, the hospital officials denied commenting on the issue. HT also reached out to the Delhi government’s health department about the apparent shortage but received no response. Officials familiar with the matter, requesting anonymity, attributed the shortage of supplies to procurement-related glitches.

Patients arriving at GTB Hospital’s emergency ward, meanwhile, are instructed to find these essential medications on their own.

A spot check at the hospital, however, highlighted the distress faced by families caught in this impossible predicament.

Shanti Devi, a 60-year-old woman from Shahdara, was rushed to the hospital after experiencing severe breathing problems. Her son, Balraj, a milk vendor, recalls the panic and confusion that ensued.

Upon arriving at the hospital, he was told that Hydrocortisone injections, necessary for his mother’s treatment, were not available. “I ran to the store looking for the medicine as they asked me to get them urgently,” said Balraj. “We can’t afford private hospitals... We rely on government care, yet even here, vital medicines are missing, forcing us to buy them outside.”

This situation is not an isolated case, and is echoed by others in the ward.

Another patient, Basin, a 92-year-old, faced a similar ordeal. His family, too, had to hunt for vital medications outside the hospital in order to ensure timely treatment.

The shortage of these medicines is not just an inconvenience; it’s a matter of life and death. For those in Delhi’s poorer communities living in the city’s east and northeast, GTB’s emergency ward isn’t just a hospital — it’s a lifeline.

For families already under immense stress, the added burden of sourcing medications outside, coupled with the financial strain associated with it, it’s a breakdown of the safety net that the public healthcare system is meant to provide.