Delhi High Court Directs Centre To Conduct Exercise For Improving Infrastructure Of Its Hospitals

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Union Government to undertake an exercise for improvement of infrastructure of the hospitals being controlled and run by it in the national capital.

A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Mini Pushkarna also directed the Delhi Government to file an action taken report stating as to whether the recommendations of the expert committee, which was constituted to enhance operational standards and treatment methodologies within government hospitals, are being implemented.

“There is always a chance of improvement. You improve it. Tell us our conditions are good. We will close the matter,” the bench orally remarked.

The court was hearing a suo motu PIL initiated in 2017 concerning the issue of safety and security of medical specialists in public hospitals, violence being faced by them and the lack of sufficient experts to provide healthcare in the hospitals.

During the hearing, Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal submitted that the matter not only concerns the broad issue of safety of doctors but a “360 degree view” has to be taken regarding the entire mechanism of healthcare delivery system, especially in government hospitals.

The court had taken suo motu cognizance of a newspaper report published by the Times of India on May 03, 2017, titled “AIIMS doctors to get self-defence training.”

The bench had highlighted various issues like the dearth of adequate security measures afforded to doctors and the incongruent growth of medical experts within hospitals compared to the escalating patient influx, which caused delays and exacerbated the likelihood of violence.

Title: COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION V/s UNION OF INDIA & ORS

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 1148