In the wake of the tragic death of four critical patients at the Sushruta Trauma Centre here on Tuesday due to disruption in oxygen supply, Delhi Health Minister A.K. Walia on Wednesday announced the constitution of a four-member committee to review the existing medical procedures and facilities in Delhi Government hospitals and to make recommendations for the modernisation, strengthening and up-gradation of the system.
At a high level meeting attended by senior Delhi Government officials and Medical Superintendents of all Delhi Government hospitals besides others, the Health Minister said the Delhi Government has also decided to set up a Bio-Engineering Cell at the State level in Maulana Azad Medical College with inputs and support from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, to examine the existing health system and lay down the procedure for its up-gradation.
The four-member committee would be chaired by Maulana Azad Medical College Dean Dr. Arun Kumar Agarwal and would look into the status and requirements of each hospital and suggest ways and means of improving their functioning.
The other members of the Committee include Dr. D.K. Tempe, Director Professor and Head (Department of Anaesthesia), G.B. Pant Hospital; Dr. U.C. Verma, Director Professor (Department of Anaesthesia), Lok Nayak Hospital; and Dr. A.K. Sethi and Head of the Anaesthesia Department, Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital.
Dr. Walia said the Committee would visit the hospitals and submit a detailed report within a fortnight. He said it has been directed to come out with a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be implemented in Delhi Government hospitals. The Health Department will then take appropriate action on the findings and recommendations of the Committee so that such tragic incidents are not repeated in future.
The existing system, Dr. Walia said, will be upgraded and strengthened and will be provided with complete administrative, financial and technical support.
At the meeting, Dr. Walia also directed the Medical Superintendents to continuously and critically examine all the services which have been outsourced. “It must also be ensured whether the staff posted is qualified to perform the job or not,” he said.
Holding out that Medical Superintendents must own the responsibility of effective administration and management of the hospital, he said this responsibility should also flow down to the Deputy Medical Superintendents and Assistant Medical Superintendents as per protocol.
As for the para-medical staff, the Minister said it must be provided with in-house training so that there is better sensitisation towards performance of the duties.
On the issue of fire safety in hospitals, Dr. Walia said efforts are being regularly made to make hospitals fire-safe as per the guidelines and procedure laid down by the Delhi Fire Service. “Five posts of Fire Safety Officers have been created to take care of fire safety stipulations. Each officer will have a cluster of hospitals under his supervision.”
