GTB Hospital Shootout Case: NHRC seeks report from Centre, Delhi Govt

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India has issued notices to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Chief Secretary, Government of NCT of Delhi as well as the Commissioner of Police, Delhi over reports that a patient was allegedly shot dead by the assailants inside a ward of the GTB hospital. 

The NHRC has initiated action, highlighting the lack of safety and security in the government hospitals in Delhi. It has further been observed that apart from the medical treatment of the patients, their safety is also a crucial aspect to be looked into by the administration of the government hospitals. 

 The incident took place on 14th July 2024, when the victim was gunned down by a person inside the ward.

According to the media report, carried on 15th July 2024, anyone can enter the hospital wards without any restrictions.

The security guards do not pay any attention towards the safety and security of patients. Those coming inside the hospital to meet the patients are never checked by the security staff. There is no provision of equipment like metal detectors, bag scanners etc. in the government hospitals in Delhi.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, raise serious issues of lack of safety and security in the government hospitals in Delhi. Apparently, there is an immediate need for government hospitals to strengthen safety and security arrangements.

Issuing the notices, the Commission has further observed that apart from the medical treatment of the patients, their safety is also a crucial aspect to be looked into by the administration of the government hospitals. The agencies being the administrators of the government hospitals are duty-bound to ensure that incidents of violence and loss of human lives due to them do not recur inside the hospitals.

According to the media report, the security arrangements in most of the Delhi hospitals are very poor. Usually, the attendants of the patients are issued special attendant/ visitor cards by the hospitals to restrict the entry of unwanted visitors in the Hospital Wards but the system of issuing visitor cards to the attendants of the patients is not functional in most of the government hospitals in Delhi.

As per the news report, no such cards are being issued to the attendants by the GTB Hospital authorities. The guards on duty would allow the visitors without any enquiry. This recent incident of violence in the GTB Hospital in the National Capital is not an isolated case.