Environment, Health & Science · Delhi, India
Delhi hospitals leave hundreds of ventilators and oxygen units idle
Published
The Delhi High Court was told that Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital has 400 unused ventilators and 910 idle oxygen concentrators left from the pandemic. The court also noted a non-functional ECG machine there and wider inventories of unused critical equipment across 26 government hospitals, including cancer-care machinery. It sought attention to how these assets are deployed.
Why it matters
Idle equipment alongside unmet treatment needs points to failures in maintenance, staffing, procurement planning and redistribution that can directly limit emergency and cancer care in the capital's public hospitals.
Evidence assessment
Bar & Bench reports figures and equipment conditions placed before the High Court; hospital-by-hospital explanations and current utilisation records are incomplete.
Medium confidence — Court submissions offer concrete inventory numbers, but an independent audit of condition and usability is not supplied.
Coverage assessment
Developing across 1 source desk.
One legal report reveals a system-wide public-health management issue now receiving judicial scrutiny.