The Comptroller and Auditor General’s report has indicated serious flaws in the public health system ranging from lack of life-saving drugs and equipment in public hospitals to malfunctioning of casualty and emergency wards in the city.
The report, placed in the Assembly, conducted a performance audit of the four major hospitals in Delhi and found that in some of the hospitals as much as 90 per cent of the life-saving drugs were not available.
The four hospitals were Lok Nayak Hospital and Deen Dayal Upadhayay Hospital (DDUH) under the Government of Delhi, Hindu Rao Hospital under the MCD and Charak Palika Hospital under the NDMC.
“At least in two of the hospitals there was no initiative to take steps to augment these short-falls,” Accountant General (Delhi) R K Ghose told reporters here.
The report revealed that the strength of medical, para medical and nursing staff in the four hospitals, constituting 32 per cent of the total bed strength in the NCT, was less than adequate that adversely affected patient care, Ghose said.
Purchase of equipment and medicines lacked financial probity, observed the report. It also found that hospital ambulances were not utilised for bona fide purpose of shifting the patients only.
Ghose said that the hospital administrations were also not serious about the problems and had not taken any initiative for sorting out the deficiencies, which showed a lack of interest on the part of the government as well.
“When the report is making some observations repeatedly it means something,” Ghose said.