Delhi HC appoints 7-member committee to streamline availing medical facilities under govt. schemes

According to the order, two members of this Committee shall be nominated by the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and two members shall be nominated by the Principal Secretary, GNCTD. One member shall be nominated by the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the one member shall be a senior officer from the National Informatics Centre nominated by the Director General.

“The procedure required for availing free medical treatment must be streamlined, including various surgeries, as well as surgeries for implants/devices and to put in place a single-window mechanism with designated nodal officers at each hospital in Delhi,” the bench said.

The terms of reference of the committee include ensuring the maintenance of an information list of drugs by hospitals, implants, and devices on the website of the departments concerned, which may be revised frequently so those seeking treatment are aware of their availability in real-time. This may also help citizens donate drugs/implants/devices as per the need of each hospital, the HC said.

The ministries of Health and Family Welfare at both Centre and State level and MCD should create revolving funds to cater to the recurring expenditure of patients suffering from chronic, rare, or lethal diseases, it said. It said that hospitals should be accessible and patient-friendly. “Emphasis must be on processing the applications quickly. All forms must be available in regional languages and the requirement of accompanying documents must be kept minimal, keeping in mind that these are for medical emergencies,” it also added.

The HC requested the Committee to furnish a report with recommendations for implementing the terms of reference before November 16, the next date of hearing.

The order came after a plea originally filed before a single judge of the HC in 2014, by a man who was denied hip and knee replacement surgeries by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, due to his financial inability to bear the surgery cost. Later, the hospital agreed to perform the surgeries and the man sought to withdraw his plea.

On July 25, the single judge bench however, said that the matter provoked crucial issues about accessibility to quality medical care for patients from marginalised sections and decided to reclassify the plea as a PIL, which was later heard by the division bench.