HC questions lack of medical infrastructure, seeks budget details from Delhi Govt
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday expressed concern over the inadequate medical infrastructure in the national Capital to treat critical care patients and questioned the AAP government about the apparent mismatch between demand and available resources.
A Division Bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, directed the Delhi Government to disclose the amount spent on enhancing the health sector in the last five years.
The court, dealing with a suo motu PIL initiated in 2017 regarding the availability of ICU beds and ventilator facilities in government hospitals, stressed the need for medical infrastructure to keep pace with the city's population.
Last month, the Bench directed the Delhi Government to file a status report outlining its plans to address this issue.
The recent application filed by Amicus Curiae, Advocate Ashok Aggarwal, brought up an incident where a critically injured man, refused treatment at several government hospitals, died after jumping from a moving PCR van.
The man, who jumped out of a moving police van, lost his life as government hospitals in the national Capital allegedly denied him treatment.
An official said that the injured man was transferred from one hospital to another, where the unavailability of beds or equipment ultimately contributed to his death.
The entire incident unfolded on the night of January 2 when a PCR call was received around 9 p.m. from a woman reporting a man in an inebriated condition engaged in a quarrel in northeast Delhi's New Usmanpur area.
The 47-year-old man, Pramod, reportedly died after being denied admission by Jag Pravesh Chandra (JPC) Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, and Lok Nayak Hospital (LNJP).
During the hearing, the court questioned how it was possible that no beds were available in four government hospitals, suggesting a shortage of overall bed capacity.
The court also expressed concern about budget allocations for healthcare getting diverted to other funds and directed the government to explore the feasibility of setting up a central portal indicating real-time information about bed availability in all city hospitals.