At a time when the surge in dengue cases in the national capital have led to a serious space crunch in Government hospitals, two Delhi Government’s super speciality hospitals having a combined capacity of over 1,000 beds are ready but main services are yet to be made operational .
At present, only the OPD services are working, according to sources.
The agencies authorised to run these hospitals have not taken any interest in starting main services in these two hospitals, even temporarily, so that dengue patients could be adjusted, said sources.
The construction of West Delhi’s Janakpuri Super Speciality hospital and East Delhi’s Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital in Tahirpur was done by the Delhi Government way back at the cost of Rs 70 crore and Rs 158 crore each. “This is a major administrative lapse. The hospitals have been built but not yet made operational. While the Delhi Government announced more money for health department, they are still not upgrading their health system. Seven months have passed since the Kejriwal Government has come to power, this shows their incompetency to handle the situation,” said Vijender Gupta, leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly.
Total 16 deaths have been reported so far while over 2,000 have found positive till Wednesday as the outbreak of dengue continues to send shockwaves across the city.
The Janakpuri Super Speciality hospital has been constructed on an 8.82-acre at a total cost of Rs 72 crore. It’s a 300-bed hospital but has only around 50 staffers that include doctors and paramedics. Only the OPD services in Cardiology, Neurology, and Nephrology are operational whereas the indoor Services are yet to be functional.
While the paucity of beds is the biggest concern in the capital, according to experts these two hospitals can actually be used to treat dengue since the number of dengue cases have shot up at an alarming rate. “These two hospitals should be used temporarily. Janakpuri hospital and Rajiv Gandhi hospital will actually be operational,” said KK Aggarwal, Secretary of Indian Medical Association.
Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital at Tahirpur, spread over a 13-acre area, cost the Government Rs 88 crore. The hospital is a far cry from what was supposed to be a super specialty healthcare institute.
A 650 bedded hospital, inaugurated in 2003 and currently providing skeletal OPD services in Cardiology and Gastroenterology. The hospital boasts about having an average daily OPD attendance of about 500 patients, whereas only 200 patients are treated in real. None of the beds are available and no patients are admitted in the hospital for treatment.