Provide online info on hospital beds, doctors availability through HMIS: Delhi HC tells govt
Delhi High Court
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government to consider how the citizens in Delhi will get to know about the availability of beds and doctors in emergencies using the Health Management Information System (HMIS) software.
A division bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Prabha M. Singh and Justice Maneet Pritam Singh Arora was hearing a suo motu PIL filed in 2017 over rising instances of violence against doctors and the non-availability of ICU beds.
In this regard, the Court observed that the background to this action was that citizens were not able to get immediate information about ICU beds, OPD and IPD services in the case of an emergency.
"The State Government may consider making this information available to the citizens of Delhi through a web-based application or mobile application through the HMIS software so that in case of an emergency, they can immediately contact the hospitals and get the necessary treatment," the HC bench observed, noting that this step is especially importance for ICU patients, who even today have to go from hospital to hospital.
Meanwhile, the health secretary to the Delhi Government told the court that the Dr. S.K. Sarin committee's recommendations were taken into account while developing the HMIS software. Regarding this, the HC bench directed the director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to call a meeting of all the concerned officials and submit a status report before the next date of hearing.
Further, the Court has asked the Health Secretary to file a report specifying the following:
1. How many total modules are to be implemented in the HMIS software?
2. Which modules have been implemented so far and what is the status of such modules.
3. Which of the modules are still remaining to be implemented, and the expected timeline for implementing them.
As per the latest media report by Live Law, the court specified that the report must also clarify whether a patient calling the helpline can be routed, with the help of HMIS, directly to a hospital where beds and required specialists are available. Apart from this, the bench also said that while preparing the report, it should be kept in mind that the basic objective of HMIS is to make hospitals accessible to the general public, especially in the case of emergencies and critical medical situations.
Further, the division bench of the HC has directed UPSC to continue the recruitment process of the radiologists and submit the necessary dossiers to the Delhi government. Previously, the Court had called the recruitment of nursing and paramedical staff extremely necessary and ordered the government not to allow any hindrance in this process.
The bench observed that appointments on a post-to-post basis should be made immediately after the results are declared, without waiting for recruitment to other posts. The matter has now been listed for further hearing on October 31, 2025.
Previously, while considering the case, the HC bench had taken note of the fact that since hospitals were built in Delhi, the number of patients has increased manifold, whereas there has been no adequate increase in the number of doctors and specialists. This has ultimately led to an increase in incidents of violence against doctors. For this, the Court, over the years, issued various directions to improve the functioning of government hospitals, including AIIMS.
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