Implement Recommendations Of Court Constituted Committee To Improve Medical Services: Delhi High Court To Chief Secretary

The Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government's Chief Secretary to ensure implementation of the recommendations given by a seven member Committee constituted by the court to streamline the process of availing free medical treatment under various government schemes in the hospitals in the national capital.A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora directed the Chief Secretary to convene monthly meetings till all the recommendations get implemented. The court directed the official to file an action taken report on or before October 15. The matter is now listed on October 22 for compliance.Amongst various recommendations, the Committee suggested that the website for every Government hospital of Delhi may be upgraded as dynamic website for real time updates on available medicine, implants and devices with the help of NIC or selected vendors. It further recommended that all Public hospitals must ensure the Electronic Display System accessible to visitors or patients for the dynamic information of list of drugs, implants and devices on the website of concerned departments, which may be revised frequently.The committee also suggested that a Nodal Officer shall be appointed by all Central or Delhi government hospitals, MCD hospitals or Autonomous hospitals including AIIMS, for all financial assistance schemes to ensure all the due requisite required for availing financial assistance.It also recommended that a single window mechanism for the convenience of patients be implemented or enhanced in all the hospitals. While dealing with a man's plea for a free of cost hip and knee replacement surgery, the bench was informed by his counsel that in terms of the recommendations, the matter be closed. “Consequently, this Court accepts the recommendations made by the Committee constituted by this Court in the present writ petition and directs the Chief Secretary, GNCTD to oversee the implementation of the recommendations by the said Committee,” the court said. Last year, a coordinate bench had constituted the committee for giving recommendations for “alleviating and curing the defects” in the current system to avail financial assistance.The court had observed that the Committee may suggest specific methodology under which patients belonging to economically weaker sections of the society may continue to receive benefits of treatment or drugs till such time the financial assistance is finally disbursed. Counsel for Petitioner: Mr. Ashok Agarwal, Mr. Kumar Utkarsh and Mr. Manoj Kumar, AdvocatesCounsel for Respondents: Mr. Satya Ranajan Swain, Panel Counsel, AIIMS with Mr. Kautilya Birat, Advocate for R-1/AIIMS; Mr. Tushar Sannu, Mr. Karan Singh and Mr. Manoviraj Singh, Advocates for GNCTD; Ms. Monika Arora, CGSC with Mr. Subhrodeep Saha, Advocate for UOI; Mr. T. Singhdev, Ms. Anum Hussain, Mr. Tanishq, Mr. Abhijit Chakravarty, Mr. Bhanu Gulati and Mr. Aabhaas Sukhramani, Advocates for Amicus CuriaeTitle: SARVESH v. ALL INDIA INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL SCIENCES & ORS.Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Del) 586Click Here To Read Order

Implement Recommendations Of Court Constituted Committee To Improve Medical Services: Delhi High Court To Chief Secretary

Nupur Thapliyal

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