Read Time: 08 minutes

Synopsis

The Delhi High Court expressed concern on Monday over the lack of medical infrastructure for critical care patients in government hospitals in the national capital.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora asked the Delhi government whether funds meant for hospitals were being transferred to some other projects.

The bench also asked the Delhi government to file a status report giving details of the amount it has spent on strengthening the health sector in the last five years.

During the hearing, the bench was informed about an incident on the intervening night of January 2–3, 2024, when a man who jumped out of a moving Police Control Room (PCR) van died after being denied treatment by four government hospitals.

The court was hearing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) initiated in 2017, focusing on the availability of ICU beds and ventilator facilities in government hospitals. 

The amicus curiae Advocate Ashok Aggarwal informed the bench that the man was denied treatment by three Delhi governments and one central government hospital on different pretexts, including the non-availability of an ICU, ventilator bed, or CT scan.

The amicus also apprised the court that the man was taken to the Delhi government-run Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Lok Nayak Hospital, and the Center’s Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

The bench questioned the Delhi government counsel as to why accident victims were not getting admission in hospitals and how it could be that no ventilator beds were available in all these hospitals.

“Where are things going wrong? Is proper infrastructure not there? Why are beds not available, what has happened in recent years? Just imagine, in four hospitals a person does not get admission,” Justice Manmohan said, adding the issue was that “infrastructure was not keeping pace with the demand of the growing population of the city”, Acting Chief Justice Manmohan questioned.

The court remarked that earlier the situation in the city was not like this and, in an accident case, admission was immediately granted in the nearest hospital.

The counsel for the central government said augmenting medical facilities was required and sought time to get details from the authorities on the issue.

“You create a portal, but facilities are not available. If a patient is not given a bed in four hospitals, this means there is a shortage of beds overall. You ensure that, at least in all districts, beds are available at some place for accident victims. Accidents can happen anywhere and at any time,” the bench said.

The court also asked whether funds meant for hospitals were being diverted to other projects and directed the Delhi government to find out and give details on the next hearing.

“At times, the budget sanctioned for healthcare augmentation gets diverted for other projects. Budget, normally, percentage-wise, might not have come done but has it been diverted somewhere else? At times, funds get diverted. What happens is that hospitals are not getting augmented, and some other project of yours is getting augmented. It should not happen like this. The problem today is critical care patients are not getting attention. You will have to increase the budget,” Justice Manmohan said.

The court further asked the Delhi government to explore the feasibility of setting up a central portal that would indicate, on a real-time basis, the number of beds available in Delhi hospitals.

Notably, in an order dated December 13, 2023, the court emphasized the pressing need to align medical facilities with the burgeoning population of the national capital. The court underscored the growing demand surpassing the available supply, particularly highlighting the scarcity of hospital beds.

Case Title: Court on its own motion v. Union of India & Ors.