Delhi High Court Raises Concerns Over Unused Medical Equipment in Government Hospitals

Court's Concern Over Medical Equipment Utilization

New Delhi, August 7 - The Delhi High Court expressed its worries on Friday regarding the underutilization of expensive medical equipment in government hospitals. A bench comprising Justice Pratibha M. Singh and Justice Manmeet P. Singh Arora requested a report from officials to address this issue. The court noted that significant equipment manufactured by renowned global companies is not being utilized adequately in hospitals like the Delhi State Cancer Institute and GTB Hospital.

The bench remarked, “Equipment worth 50-60 crores is lying unused in the cancer hospital. The situation at GTB Hospital is equally alarming, with 400 ventilators and 910 oxygen concentrators sitting idle. These devices were donated during the COVID-19 pandemic... even the ECG machines are non-functional, and there is no mention of any other ECG machines in the report.” The court highlighted that the number of unused devices is exceedingly high.

It remains unclear why these devices are allowed to remain idle after such significant investments, and what steps the hospital or service department has taken to ensure the necessary staffing.

The court instructed the health secretary to convene a meeting with the medical superintendents of the hospitals and the secretary of the service department to discuss this matter and submit a report. The officials are expected to analyze the situation at each hospital and consider measures for staffing, reallocating unused equipment, and ensuring the availability of auxiliary and main machines where necessary. The court ordered, “This meeting will take place on August 17 at 11:30 AM at the health secretary's office.”

The health secretary is to file a comprehensive report covering all aspects.

Previously, on July 3, the court had directed all hospitals under the Delhi government to conduct an audit of all purchased machines that are not in use and submit a report. This hearing is part of a suo motu case initiated in 2017 concerning the alleged lack of critical care facilities in Delhi's government hospitals.

Advocate Ashok Agarwal has been appointed as amicus curiae to assist the court in this matter.