The Delhi High Court has ordered surprise inspections of all 38 Delhi government hospitals after a 70-year-old woman was allegedly denied an ICU bed despite the government's portal showing beds as available.
In an order passed on July 3 while hearing a batch of matters related to healthcare infrastructure and hospital administration, a Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora directed the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to carry out surprise audits at all 38 hospitals by July 31 and submit a report to the court.
The directions came after the court was informed about the case of Kamar Jahan, a 70-year-old resident of Seelampur, who developed breathing difficulty on June 30. She first approached Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, from where she was referred to GTB Hospital or LNJP Hospital after requiring an ICU bed.
According to the court proceedings, she was given only cursory treatment at LNJP Hospital and sent back on the ground that no ICU beds were available, even though the online portal showed two ICU beds as vacant at that time.
The Bench also noted that repeated calls made by the patient's family to the hospital numbers listed on the website failed to elicit any meaningful response. It recorded that one call was answered by a security guard who could not confirm ICU bed availability, while calls made by the court staff itself either went unanswered or busy.
During the hearing, the court examined records from both hospitals and found inconsistencies in the implementation of the NextGen e-Hospital Management Information System (HMIS). While no Unique Health Identification (UHID) for generated for the patient at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, a UHID was created at LNJP Hospital. The Bench observed that it remained unclear how the HMIS platform was being used across hospitals and why there was no uniformity in its implementation.
“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 various telephone lines in the hospitals and are present at the hospitals do not turn down patients,” the court said.
The NIC audit has been asked to verify whether ICU bed availability is accurately reflected on the portal, whether emergency calls seeking ICU beds are properly attended to and whether the HMIS is being implemented uniformly across all Delhi government hospitals. Any gaps identified are to be reported before the court.
The Bench 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 enquiries related to ICU bed availability.