Delhi Hospitals Face Staff Shortages, Overcrowding

A Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report, based on a Comptroller and Auditor General's audit, has exposed significant failings in Delhi's public healthcare services. The audit, spanning from 2016-17 to 2020-21 (extended to 2021-22), detailed widespread staff shortages, with government hospitals experiencing a roughly 21% vacancy rate by March 2022.

This critical lack of personnel is impacting patient care directly. At Lok Nayak Hospital, doctors are overburdened, attending to an average of 87 patients each, leaving less than five minutes per individual. Waiting times for major surgeries have also become excessively long, ranging from two to three months for general surgeries and up to six to eight months for specialized procedures.

Further compounding these issues, essential facilities remain underutilized due to manpower shortages. Six of twelve modular operation theatres at Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital and all seven at Janakpuri Super Specialty Hospital were found to be idle. The Centralized Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) fleet also suffers from a lack of essential equipment and devices.

The PAC has urged the government to expedite recruitment, create better career avenues for specialists, and implement robust monitoring mechanisms. Remedial measures are expected to be in place across all government hospitals by June 2026.