Delhi HC flags crores-worth medical equipment lying unused in govt hospitals

The Delhi High Court expressed concern over crores-worth of medical equipment lying unused in government hospitals, citing manpower shortages and missing accessories. It directed the Health Secretary to review the situation, consider reallocation and file a comprehensive report after a meeting on August 17

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday expressed concern over equipment worth crores of rupees lying unused in Delhi government-run hospitals and sought a report from the authorities on dealing with the issue.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet P S Arora observed that a large quantity of critical equipment, manufactured by globally acclaimed companies, was not being used in hospitals like the Delhi State Cancer Institute and GTB Hospital. The court noted that according to a report tendered to it, the reasons for non-usage include lack of technical manpower as well as the absence of accessories and principal equipment.

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“In the cancer hospital, we have equipment worth Rs 50-60 crore (lying) unused. It looks like that… The situation in GTB Hospital is also shocking, where there are 400 ventilators and 910 oxygen concentrators lying unused. These were donated during COVID-19… Even the ECG machine is non-functional, and there is no other ECG machine mentioned in the report,” the bench stated.

“The amount of equipment lying unused is extremely high and it is not clear as to why the said equipment is being permitted to lie unused after enormous investment has been made and what steps have been taken by the hospital or service department to procure the manpower required,” it added.

The court directed the health secretary to hold a meeting with the medical superintendents of the hospitals and the secretary (Services) on the issue and file a report.

The authorities will analyse the situation of each hospital and consider taking steps with respect to providing manpower, reallocation of unused equipment where needed, providing of accessories and principal equipment, the court added.

“The said meeting shall take place on August 17 at 11:30 am in the office of the Secretary, Health, who shall file a comprehensive report on all aspects,” ordered the court. On July 3, the court had directed all the hospitals under the Delhi government to conduct an audit and file a report on all the machinery lying unused after being purchased.

The direction was passed after the court noted that PET cyclotron equipment, which was stated to have been purchased for Rs 15.42 crore, had been non-operational and non-functional for several years at the Delhi State Cancer Institute due to a lack of trained manpower.

“It is clear that this is a gross waste of public resources. Accordingly, it is directed that all the hospitals under the GNCTD shall conduct an audit and file a report before this Court as to all the equipment/machinery which have been purchased by them and are lying unused,” the court had then ordered. The court was hearing a suo motu case it initiated in 2017 over the alleged lack of critical care in government hospitals here. Lawyer Ashok Agarwal was appointed as the amicus curiae in the case.