Link to the original articel by Nupur Thapliyal
In Live Law
Our View
Quite Shocking’: 400 Ventilators & 910 Oxygen Concentrators Lying Unused in Delhi Govt Hospital Who is responsible when life-saving equipment gathers dust while patients gasp for breath?
The Delhi High Court’s recent revelation is a stark indictment of systemic neglect. While countless Indians still struggle to access basic healthcare—fighting for hospital beds, oxygen, and timely treatment—400 ventilators and 910 oxygen concentrators are lying unused at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital alone. The court’s reaction? “Quite Shocking.”
The Reality on the Ground
We all remember the heart-wrenching images from the COVID-19 pandemic: families pleading for oxygen cylinders, patients dying on hospital steps, and the desperate search for ventilator beds. Today, years later, critical medical equipment, purchased with public money, is collecting dust in storage rooms—while patients continue to suffer.
This is not just a logistical failure. It is a moral and administrative failure at every level.
Who Must Answer?
- Hospital Administrations: Why are these life-saving machines not being deployed? Are there staffing shortages, training gaps, or bureaucratic red tape?
- Delhi Government: Why has there been no audit or oversight to ensure that taxpayer-funded equipment is actually used?
- Health Department: Where is the accountability for such glaring inefficiency?
The Delhi High Court has flagged the issue, but the real question is: Who will take responsibility?
What do you think? Should heads roll for this negligence, or is there a deeper systemic issue that needs urgent reform?