The affected person’s granddaughter advised the court docket that the Delhi authorities’s on-line portal confirmed two ICU beds as obtainable at LNJP Hospital after they arrived, however the household was nonetheless turned away. File
| Picture Credit score: The Hindu
The Delhi Excessive Court docket has directed the Nationwide Informatics Centre (NIC) to conduct shock audits throughout 38 Delhi authorities hospitals after a 70-year-old lady was allegedly denied an ICU mattress at LNJP Hospital regardless of the federal government’s on-line portal exhibiting ICU beds as obtainable.
A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, in an order handed on July 3, expressed critical concern over obtrusive deficiencies within the ICU mattress administration system. The court docket was listening to a batch of public curiosity issues regarding healthcare infrastructure and hospital administration within the nationwide capital.
The route got here after amicus curiae Ashok Agarwal knowledgeable the court docket concerning the case of 70-year-old Kamar Jahan, a resident of Seelampur, who developed respiratory difficulties on June 30. She was initially taken to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, from the place she was referred to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital for an ICU mattress. Nonetheless, regardless of requiring vital care, she was allegedly discharged after cursory remedy on the grounds that no ICU beds had been obtainable.
The affected person’s granddaughter advised the court docket that the Delhi authorities’s on-line portal confirmed two ICU beds as obtainable at LNJP Hospital after they arrived, however the household was nonetheless turned away. She additional claimed that repeated makes an attempt to contact the hospital utilizing the emergency numbers listed on the web site yielded no significant response.
Throughout the court docket continuing, a court docket workers member dialled the listed numbers, however the strains had been both busy or there was no reply.
The court docket highlighted inconsistencies in using the NextGen e-Hospital Administration Info System (HMIS), noting that whereas the affected person had not been assigned a Distinctive Well being Identification (UHID) at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, she was assigned one at LNJP Hospital.
“Clearly, there’s a disparity within the method by which the HMIS Platform is being applied throughout the Delhi Authorities hospitals,” the court docket noticed.
“It’s clear that there must be consistency and uniformity in utilizing the NextGen e-Hospital Administration Info System (HMIS), and additionally it is essential to make sure that the individuals who’re manning the assorted phone strains within the hospitals and are current on the hospitals don’t flip down sufferers,” the court docket stated.
To deal with these points, the court docket directed NIC Joint Director Aarti Garg and her crew to conduct shock inspections of the 38 Delhi authorities hospitals by July 31. The audit will study whether or not ICU mattress availability is precisely mirrored on the web portal, whether or not emergency cellphone calls are being attended to correctly, and whether or not the HMIS platform is being applied uniformly throughout hospitals.
The court docket additionally requested the Delhi authorities to contemplate establishing a toll-free quantity with not less than 10 to twenty strains obtainable at any level for emergency companies and ICU mattress availability-related enquiries.
It additionally directed that Ms. Jahan be admitted to LNJP Hospital for an ICU mattress and acceptable remedy.
The proceedings additionally delivered to gentle one other situation regarding the Delhi State Most cancers Institute, the place a PET Hint-10 Medical Cyclotron, procured in 2017 for roughly ₹15.42 crore to supply vital nuclear drugs companies, has remained non-functional for years as a result of absence of skilled personnel and pending regulatory approvals.
Terming it “a gross waste of public sources”, the court docket directed all of the hospitals beneath the Delhi authorities to conduct an audit and submit a report earlier than the court docket as to all of the gear/equipment which have been bought by them and are mendacity unused.
The matter has been listed for additional listening to on August 7.
Revealed – July 08, 2026 03:49 pm IST
