NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has taken note of expensive equipment lying unused in government hospitals in Delhi. It expressed “shock” on 400 ventilators and 910 oxygen concentrators reportedly lying unused at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora are hearing a suo motu case, in which it routinely monitors healthcare services in the city’s government hospitals.
The situation at the Delhi State Cancer Institute is no different, where a very large number of equipment meant for cancer diagnosis and treatment lied unused, the court was informed. It noted that Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Chaudhary Brahm Prakash Ayurved Charak Sansthan also faced a similar situation, in which all their equipment and machines were reported to be lying unused.
The court was informed by GTB Hospital that the ventilators and oxygen concentrators were procured or donated during Covid-19 and were now surplus. They are part of a wider list of critical medical equipment lying idle in 26 government hospitals, the bench was told.
Machines from top firms
The division bench of the High Court observed, “Equipment appears to be manufactured by globally well-known companies, and it is unclear as to why such equipment is being permitted to lie unused.”