Supreme Court Directs States To Prepare Action Plans To Implement Minimum Standards For Intensive Care Units

The Supreme Court recently directed all States and Union Territories to immediately prepare action plans for implementing minimum standards for Intensive Care Units, and fixed a three-week deadline to complete a national blueprint based on a common framework.

“Moving further, as an immediate measure, let all the Additional Chief Secretaries/Secretaries, as the case may be, heading the Department of Health and Medical Education in the States and the UTs, convene a meeting of all experts involved in this exercise for the purpose of preparing an action plan for implementation of the guidelines. Such plan shall be realistic and practical. At the first instance, five basic issues shall be identified and prioritised”, the Court stated.

A bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R Mahadevan issued detailed directions on how the exercise will proceed, after taking on record a consensus document titled “Guidelines for Organization and Delivery of Intensive Care Services”, which sets out the minimum standards for ICUs.

The Court directed the Union Health Ministry to circulate this document to all States and Union Territories as an advisory and upload it on its website.

As the first step, the Court directed that within one week, the Additional Chief Secretaries or Secretaries heading Health and Medical Education departments in all States and Union Territories must convene meetings with experts involved in the process. These meetings must begin immediately and focus on identifying five priority areas that are “absolutely essential and mandatory”, particularly in relation to manpower and equipment or logistics.

The Court said the States must also work out a practical method to implement these standards on the ground and put in place a mechanism to monitor compliance. It directed that the concerned Health Secretaries attend these meetings personally and ensure detailed deliberations with all members of the expert teams.

Once the State-level exercise is completed, the reports are to be sent to the Secretary, Department of Health, Government of India. A joint meeting has to be thereafter convened under the Union Health Secretary to prepare a final common draft, to be submitted to the Court.

The Court fixed a three-week timeline to complete the entire exercise, from the initial State-level consultations to the preparation of the final report. The matter will be taken up next on May 18, 2026.

The directions were issued after the Court heard several senior doctors and experts, who suggested measures such as prescribing timelines, ensuring that personnel handling specialised equipment are properly trained, preparing standard operating procedures in the form of checklists, and creating a GPS-based hospital locator to help identify nearby facilities based on the patient's condition. The Court noted these suggestions for consideration while finalising the guidelines.

During the hearing, a suggestion was also made regarding the need for better training of nursing staff, as they remain with patients round the clock. Accepting this, the Court impleaded the Indian Nursing Council and the Para Medical Council of India as party respondents and issued notice to them. It asked them to place on record, on the next date of hearing, a plan indicating how they propose to strengthen courses, curriculum and training so that personnel are equipped to handle ICU situations.

The Court further allowed experts associated with the process to submit their suggestions in advance to the ASG or the Amicus Curiae for onward transmission to the States, Union Territories and the Union government. It also requested members of the expert team to be present on the next date, either physically or through virtual mode.

Case no. – Miscellaneous Application Diary No. 30408/2024

Case Title – Asit Baran Mondal & Anr. v. Dr. Rita Sinha MBBS MS (Obst. Gynae) & Ors.

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