Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday in its judgement said that there is an immediate need to set some standards regarding the doctor-patient ratio in hospitals and the working hours of doctors also need to be regulated .
This suggestion of regulating the duty hours and maintaining the patient-doctor ratio came from the High Court bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar, when it was informed by a private body that was evaluating healthcare quality in the three hospitals in Delhi, there was no set doctor-patient ratio and that doctors work for excessive hours. .
The private talked with the job to evaluate the hearth care facilities,The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH), comes under the Quality Council of India (QCI), submitted to the court its report in which it said that the three hospitals examined by the body were overcrowded with patients and several sanctioned posts of doctors were lying vacant. The report further claimed that there was a lack of integration of information technology programme between the out-patient departments (OPD) and laboratories leading to heavy rush and people ending up in long queues even when they are to give samples, or collect report. Visiting doctors is equally cumbersome as they ques are longer there.
The bench, taking the report as reference point directed the Centre and the Delhi government to inform the court about the developments made on this front and the steps taken or suggestions for rectifying the deficiencies pointed out, on the next date of hearing.
The court had earlier ordered to evaluate the healthcare quality at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung Hospital and the LNJP Hospital as the court had taken a stance was that the Centre was “not placing” the correct picture before the court in this issue.
The NABH, has suggested that in order to reduce the flare-ups between patients’ families and doctors, the number of support staff like nurse assistants and ward boys should be increased. the report further suggests training all medical staff in advanced life support system and counseling and stationing adequate security personnel at critical locations in and around the hospital area and a provision to provide wide publicity to the punishments for violence against medical personnel.
The decision came after High Court took up the Public Interest Litigation regarding increase in violent attacks on doctors and medical staff by the patients families.
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