Delhi High Court orders surprise audits of 38 hospitals after ICU bed data mismatch denies elderly patient care

The Delhi High Court has directed the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to conduct surprise audits at 38 government hospitals in the capital, after a 70-year-old woman was allegedly denied an ICU bed at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital despite the government's online portal showing beds as available.

A Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, in an order passed on July 3, expressed serious concern over glaring deficiencies in the ICU bed management system. The court was hearing a batch of public interest petitions concerning healthcare infrastructure and hospital management in Delhi.

The direction came after amicus curiae Ashok Agarwal informed the court about Kamar Jahan, a resident of Seelampur, who developed breathing difficulties on June 30. She was initially taken to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, from where she was referred to LNJP Hospital for an ICU bed. However, despite requiring critical care, she was allegedly discharged after cursory treatment on the grounds that no ICU beds were available.

The patient's granddaughter told the court that the Delhi government's online portal showed two ICU beds as available at LNJP Hospital when they arrived, but the family was nevertheless turned away. She further claimed that repeated attempts to contact the hospital using the emergency numbers listed on the website yielded no meaningful response. During the court proceeding, a court staff member dialled the listed numbers, but the lines were either busy or there was no answer.

The court highlighted inconsistencies in the use of the NextGen e-Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), noting that while the patient had not been assigned a Unique Health Identification (UHID) at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, she was assigned one at LNJP Hospital. “Clearly, there is a disparity in the manner in which the HMIS Platform is being implemented across the Delhi Government hospitals,” the court observed.

“It is clear that there needs to be consistency and uniformity in using the NextGen e-Hospital Management Information System (HMIS), and it is also necessary to ensure that the persons who are manning the various telephone lines in the hospitals and are present at the hospitals do not turn down patients,” the court said.

To address these issues, the court directed NIC Joint Director Aarti Garg and her team to conduct surprise inspections of the 38 Delhi government hospitals by July 31. The audit will examine whether ICU bed availability is accurately reflected on the online portal, whether emergency phone calls are being attended to properly, and whether the HMIS platform is being implemented uniformly across hospitals.

The court also asked the Delhi government to consider setting up a toll-free number with at least 10 to 20 lines available at any point for emergency services and ICU bed availability-related enquiries. It also directed that Ms. Jahan be admitted to LNJP Hospital for an ICU bed and appropriate treatment.

The proceedings also brought to light another issue concerning the Delhi State Cancer Institute, where a PET Trace-10 Medical Cyclotron, procured in 2017 for approximately ₹15.42 crore to provide critical nuclear medicine services, has remained non-functional for years due to the absence of trained personnel and pending regulatory approvals. Terming it “a gross waste of public resources”, the court directed all hospitals under the Delhi government to conduct an audit and submit a report on all equipment/machinery that has been purchased and is lying unused.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 7.