Delhi Govt Hospitals report staff shortages; AIIMS has 417 vacant doctor posts: Centre
New Delhi: Major Central Government hospitals in the national capital, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College, have reported vacancies across doctors, residents, nurses, technicians and other healthcare staff, according to data shared by the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Prataprao Jadhav, in the Rajya Sabha.
The data was provided by the Minister in response to questions raised by MP Shri Pawan Khera regarding infrastructural and operational challenges faced by these major hospitals.
The questions inquired whether Government has taken cognizance of the operational challenges being faced by major Central Government hospitals in Delhi, including AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College, if so, the details thereof; the sanctioned and available capacity of ICU beds, operation theatres, diagnostic equipments (CT Scan, MRI, PET-CT, Ultrasound and other major equipments), along with the number of non-functional equipment and the average downtime during the last three years, hospital-wise.
He also inquired about the sanctioned strength, working strength and vacancies of doctors, specialists, nurses, technicians and other healthcare personnel in these hospitals, hospital-wise.
The minister stated that despite heavy footfall of patients in major hospitals under the Central Government in Delhi, namely Safdarjung Hospital (SJH), Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (Dr RMLH), Lady Hardinge Medical College & Associated Hospitals (LHMC) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences(AIIMS), New Delhi, best efforts are made to provide quality health care services to the patients. The functioning of these hospitals is reviewed periodically and various measures are undertaken from time to time to strengthen infrastructure, augment manpower, improve availability of medical equipment and diagnostic services, expand patient care facilities, and enhance overall service delivery, so as to ensure accessible and quality healthcare to the patients.
According to the data, AIIMS New Delhi has 417 vacant doctor posts against 1,313 sanctioned posts. The hospital also has 736 vacancies among Junior/Senior Resident posts, along with 426 vacant nursing posts and 702 vacancies among technicians. Another 1,353 posts are vacant among other healthcare staff.
At Safdarjung Hospital, 189 of 638 sanctioned doctor posts are vacant, along with 382 vacancies among Junior/Senior Residents. The hospital also has 171 vacant nursing posts, 58 technician vacancies and 798 vacancies among other healthcare staff.
At Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, 82 doctor posts and 210 Junior/Senior Resident posts are vacant. The hospital has four vacant nursing posts, 58 technician vacancies and 92 vacancies among other healthcare staff.
Lady Hardinge Medical College and its associated hospitals have 51 vacant doctor posts and 85 vacant Junior/Senior Resident posts. The data also shows 139 vacancies among nursing staff, 122 among technicians and 186 among other healthcare personnel.
Equipment Status At Major Delhi Hospitals
The Centre also provided details of ICU beds, operation theatres and major diagnostic equipment at the four institutions. At AIIMS New Delhi, 36 of the 424 ICU beds were unavailable as certain wards were undergoing renovation, while 11 of 115 operation theatres were listed as unavailable. The hospital also reported three CT machines, one PET-CT/SPECT machine and two ultrasound machines under replacement.
At Safdarjung Hospital, 305 ICU beds and 57 operation theatres were available, with no non-functional units reported in the data. Four CT machines, two MRI machines, one PET-CT machine and 17 ultrasound machines were also listed as available.
The Ministry stated that various measures are being undertaken from time to time to improve manpower, equipment availability, diagnostic services and patient care facilities at these hospitals.
