NEW DELHI: In a major order on the city’s public health infrastructure, the Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi government and the National Informatics Centre to study the feasibility of making data on availability of emergency and trauma-related facilities and beds in government hospitals available on a real-time basis in a mobile application, so that “patients, police personnel who usually deal with accident victims, ambulance providers, private hospitals, etc., can access it easily”.
The bench of Justices Pratibha M Singh and Manmeet Pritam Singh made this order after the government submitted that this data was already available on the government website.
The court was hearing a suo motu case it initiated in 2017 over the alleged lack of critical care in government hospitals.
The Health Department of the Delhi government currently posts real-time data only on the availability of ICU beds in government hospitals, while other data points are not easily accessible. The bench also sought data from the government on patients who used the diagnostics facilities at its hospitals in 2025.
It expressed displeasure at the lack of clarity on the numbers of diagnostic centres in these hospitals which offer ultrasound and X-ray facilities, terming them “very basic services” in healthare. It asked the government to provide a list of all government hospitals which offer “actual” diagnostic and radiological facilities and funds disbursed to them in 2025.
The court, meanwhile, noted the submission of the government that the income threshold for those availing free treatment under EWS category in its hospitals, built on concessional land, has been increased to Rs 5 lakh annually. The court directed the authorities to give adequate publicity to the enhanced limit. The bench also directed to streamline recruitment of medical and non-medical staff.
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Court has scheduled next hearing on February 13
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