In a scenario where Delhi hospitals are struggling with a sea of patients due to the outbreak of vector-borne diseases, an RTI reply has found that the bed count increased only by 1,302 in the 15 months of the AAP government’s tenure in Delhi. In its 70-point agenda, the AAP had promised to add 30,000 beds to Delhi ‘s government hospitals during its five-year tenure in the national capital. There also has been no new addition of a hospital to the healthcare infrastructure of the city, the reply has found.
According to the figures provided by the directorate general of health services, 9,423 beds were functional as against the sanctioned strength of 10,859 till March 31. The bed count registered a minimal increase of 1,302 till June this year. The total number of beds in the 39 hospitals owned by the Delhi government stands at 10,725, according to the reply to the query.
“The Aam Aadmi Party, which is busy campaigning in other states, is struggling to meet its election promises in Delhi itself. With such a sluggish pace of increase in bed count, it looks almost impossible to meet the target of adding 30,000 hospital beds. Had the government concentrated on meeting its election promises in the national capital, these vector-borne diseas-es would not have spread like an epidemic,” Mukesh Gupta, an activist, who filed the RTI, said.
As per the break-up of beds provided by the government, Lok Nayak Hospital leads with the highest number of 1,888, followed by G.T.B. hospital, which has 1,729 beds for the patients.
The AAP, in its pre poll agenda, had assured citizens that once elected to power it would ensure that the national capital adhered to the World Health Organisation’s prescribed norms of five beds per 1,000 people. At present, the city lags behind by almost half with 2.71 beds per 1,000 patients.
