On July 21, a homeless man named Amit walked into Lok Nayak Hospital carrying a medical report that showed he had Pott’s disease, or spinal tuberculosis.
He was advised an MRI of the lumbosacral spine by a doctor at the hospital. But when the 27-year-old reached the radiology department, he was handed a form stamped with a date: 9 am on April 23, 2029 – nearly three years away.
Amit was stunned. “I thought it was a mistake, maybe a typing error, but they told me the date was correct,” he said.
He was not the only one. Officials records show that another patient who required an MRI of the left knee was given the same date: April 23, 2029.
At Delhi’s largest government hospitals, a three-year wait for an MRI is not an aberration. Patients are routinely given dates months or years away for diagnostic tests they need, leaving those who cannot afford private healthcare with little choice.
Room number 128, Test Registration room, Lok Nayak Hospital. (Express Photo)
Originally from Jabalpur, Amit left home at the age of eight, taking up odd jobs in restaurants and as daily-wage labour. “I had trouble walking. It hurts when I move my foot. That’s why I went to Lok Nayak for a checkup…,” he said.
He last worked in April, at a restaurant in Old Delhi. He is now staying at a Delhi government shelter near the Tibetan Monastery Market in North Delhi’s Civil Lines.
But help arrived for Amit.
Following Advocate Ashok Agarwal’s intervention, the Delhi High Court verbally directed the Delhi government’s counsel to ensure Amit was given an immediate MRI date.
Agarwal had sought urgent court directions in a July 25 submission to ensure timely access to essential diagnostic tests, particularly for homeless and other vulnerable patients at government hospitals.
On Monday, July 27, his MRI was finally conducted.
“I was diagnosed with TB at Lok Nayak in 2009, when I was around 10. I had gone there after fracturing my leg in an accident while working at a hotel in Haridwar,” Amit said.
The long wait for a diagnosis
The delays were evident again on July 31.
In the afternoon, around 100 patients stood inside Room No. 128, near Gate No. 2 of the hospital – many of them since morning – waiting to register for an MRI, CT scan, ultrasound and X-ray.
Five steel railings divided the room into four queues, each leading to a separate counter. The room itself sat enclosed in a steel cage, with seating built along three of its edges.
A water dispenser in the corner did not work. Outside, ambulances wailed intermittently, kids swung off the steel railing, babies cried, and at one point, two people got into an argument over who had been standing ahead in the line.
After lunch, hospital staff emerged from inside the radiology department and informed the patients that no dates would be given out that day – only pregnant women and patients already admitted to a ward would be accommodated. OPD patients, regardless of how long they had waited, were turned away without a date.
A hospital official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Indian Express, “We get around 10,000 people for the OPD every day. It’s difficult to accommodate everyone.”
Among those turned away was Pooja, 28, who hoped to get her baby checked for a persistent cough.
“The doctor asked us to get an X-ray and a blood test done. My husband is a daily wage labourer, so he couldn’t come with me. I’ve been standing here since morning, and now they’re saying the test won’t happen today,” she said.
Nearby stood Bashir, 78, from Haryana’s Mewat, frail and stooped, a black file bag in hand. Dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, the retired leather-tanning worker from Kanpur was diagnosed with tuberculosis a decade ago.
“There was blood in my cough, so I came to the OPD. The doctors asked for tests, but the hospital staff say it’s not possible today,” he said, glancing repeatedly at an old silver watch on his wrist. “I don’t have a place to stay here. The tests from private labs cost a lot of money – I have to provide for my family too.”
A recurring issue
This is not the first time such dates have surfaced at the hospital.
Advocate Agarwal, who serves as amicus curiae before the Delhi High Court, has previously flagged similar cases at the hospital.
Speaking to The Indian Express, he said, “These cases are part of a larger pattern of a failing health system. The right to health flows from Article 21 of the Constitution; the Supreme Court… had also held that the right to emergency medical treatment is a fundamental right. The denial of tests, or an unreasonable delay in conducting them, is tantamount to a violation of that right.”
He added, “Where does a patient who cannot afford private treatment go? There needs to be a public health law. Health is a state subject, but the Centre can move it to the Concurrent List, or bring in a model act that states can adopt. What we need, ultimately, is a comprehensive law on health.”
A senior resident doctor at Lok Nayak, however, described the backlog as enormous but routine. “This is normal for us. Most MRI dates are three to four years out – the bulk of these referrals come from the Medicine department.”
A hospital official said patients who could furnish address proof or an Aadhaar card showing Delhi residency had their tests expedited.
The official said the hospital was also directing eligible patients to the Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK), a Delhi government scheme that provides financial assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh to needy and eligible patients for treatment of any illness or disease at government hospitals. Diagnostic tests, including MRI, CT scans and X-rays, are covered under the scheme.
Patients outside the line being turned away. (Express Photo) 
Room number 128, Test Registration room, Lok Nayak Hospital. (Express Photo)
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