HC raps Delhi govt over ‘unused’ medical equipment at govt hospitals

The Delhi high court on Friday observed that it was shocking that imported medical equipment worth nearly ₹50-60 crore was lying unused at Delhi government hospitals owing to a shortage of manpower and the non-availability of essential accessories

The Delhi high court on Friday observed that it was shocking that imported medical equipment worth nearly ₹50-60 crore was lying unused at Delhi government hospitals owing to a shortage of manpower and the non-availability of essential accessories.

The matter will be heard next on September 18. (Photo for representation)

The observations came while the court was hearing a suo motu case on the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) beds with ventilator facilities in Delhi government hospitals and the functioning of emergency helplines. The bench was examining reports filed by hospitals pursuant to its July 3 order directing them to audit machinery lying unused and identify the reasons for them remaining idle.

A bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet PS Arora directed the Delhi government’s health secretary and the services department to convene a meeting with the medical superintendents of all Delhi government hospitals on August 17 to assess the status of equipment at each hospital.

The court directed the authorities to ensure adequate manpower to operate the equipment, reallocate unused machines to hospitals where they are required, and provide the necessary accessories and principal equipment wherever deficiencies have been identified.

“It is a very shocking situation. They (machines) are all imported equipment. This equipment at the Delhi State Cancer Institute is very, very shocking. All of them are foreign. The cancer institute has the worst,” the court remarked.

It added, “Everything is lying unused. Why do you not recruit manpower for using these machines? We need to take it very, very seriously. It looks like we have equipment of ₹50-60 crore which is lying unused.”

It, however, refused to order an inquiry into the situation, saying that it intended to ensure that all these machines are up and running. “We do not want to inquire, we want to get them up and running,” the bench said.

On July 3, the court had directed the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to conduct surprise audits at 38 Delhi government hospitals to assess the implementation of the NextGen e-Hospital Management Information System (e-HMIS). It had also asked the NIC to examine whether ICU bed availability was being accurately reflected on the portal, whether calls regarding ICU beds were being attended to, whether the system was being implemented uniformly across hospitals, and to identify any gaps in its functioning.

The audit reports revealed that a substantial number of medical devices across Delhi government hospitals remained non-functional due to a shortage of manpower and the non-availability of essential accessories. The bench noted that the quantum of unused equipment at certain hospitals, including the Delhi State Cancer Institute, was “extremely high” and questioned why such expensive equipment had been allowed to remain idle what steps had been taken by the hospital authorities and the services department to recruit the necessary manpower.

Referring to the situation at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital as “shocking”, the court noted that 400 ventilators and 910 oxygen concentrators were lying unused in the hospital’s stores. The report also said the hospital’s ECG machine was non-functional and did not indicate whether an alternative machine was available.

On Friday, the bench directed the Delhi government’s health secretary to circulate the NIC’s audit report to the medical superintendents of all government hospitals and review the deficiencies flagged in it, including shortages of staff, technical manpower and computer systems. The health secretary was further directed to file a comprehensive report detailing the steps taken to address these shortcomings. The court also asked the NIC to conduct another surprise audit.

The matter will be heard next on September 18.