High Court asks for report on burns ward

The court was hearing a PIL filed by Lt Col (retd) Y.K. Wahi alleging the hospital, considered to be the only one having "super-speciality" facilities, was lacking in them and the patients were not getting proper treatment.

The court’s direction to Dr Bajaj came after petitioner’s counsel K.T.S Tulsi pointed out that a committee appointed by the HC to examine the functioning of the burns ward had found certain deficiencies and given suggestions to improve the condition. The committee comprising four lawyers — Meera Bhatia, R.K. Saini, Rajiv Awasthi and Praveen Suri — in its report had said the required equipment for treatment of patients were either missing or not functioning properly.

Skin-grafting facility, which was essential for treating burn patients, was not found and the patients were left `ungrafted’ which aggravated their problem and in most of the cases proved fatal, Bhatia said.

The committee has suggested several measures for improving the condition in hospital which included 24-hour water supply, emergency blood investigation and plasma count tests, provision of special beds, ventilatory supporting machines and special intensive care unit. Dr Bajaj admitted that the maximum number of patients were brought to the hospital during Diwali and 90 per cent of them had minor injuries which needed first aid. Admission cases were very few.

He said no private hospital and nursing home admit the burn patients and recommend them to Safdarjung. Even government hospitals, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), refer patients to Safdarjung when they could be treated by them, he said.

Bhatia said that during last Diwali, AIIMS had posted a guard at its gate with instructions that burns patients should not be allowed in and turned away towards Safdarjung. "This is a very serious matter," she said. She said there should be direction to all hospitals to treat burns patients and not put extra pressure on Safdarjung, which could cater for more serious patients.