HC orders evaluation of AIIMS, Safdarjung and LNJP hospitals

THE COURT EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT ALLEGED ASSAULTS ON DOCTORS BY PATIENTS AT THESE HOSPITALS

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked a private body to assess the quality of healthcare at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung Hospital and LNJP Hospital as the Centre was “not placing” the correct picture before it.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said that “it cannot be denied that insufficiency of medical staff is one of the major causes of discontent among patients and their attendants” despite the Centre claiming that there are enough doctors at these institutes.

The court also expressed concerns about alleged assaults on doctors by patients and said that such acts cannot be countenanced. It also observed that patients needed attendants as the nurses were not doing their jobs and said if CCTV cameras are installed, the real conditions there would become evident.

The court went on to express displeasure over the Central government’s failure in placing the correct position of the hospitals before it and said that it was imperative to have an independent audit of the facilities along with recommendations of an ideal healthcare situation.

It asked the National Accreditation Board f or Hospitals (NABH), a body under the Quality Council of India (QCI), to conduct a detailed evaluation of the three hospitals and submit a report within three weeks.

The court’s order comes while hearing a plea initiated by itself on the assault of doctors. It asked the NABH, represented by advocate Vikas Chopra, to inform it about the doctor-patient ratio, adequacy of facilities for doctors and measures in place for their safety and security.

The court said it was open to NABH to decide which all specialities it will evaluate and directed the Centre and the Delhi government to pay the organisation ₹2 lakh per hospital, as interim payment for the assessment.