New Delhi, March 15: The Delhi government is set to take a significant step towards modernizing and enhancing the capital’s healthcare services. The government has decided to integrate major public medical institutions, such as Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital (GTB), Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI), and Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital (RGSSH), into an autonomous institution modeled after AIIMS.
Additionally, the Institute of Human Behavior and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) will be developed into the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences-2 in the future.
Recently, a high-level review meeting was held at the Delhi Secretariat, chaired by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Health Minister Dr. Pankaj Kumar Singh and senior officials from various departments attended the meeting. They discussed crucial proposals aimed at creating a robust and modern healthcare system by integrating the capital’s major public medical institutions, optimizing available resources, and developing world-class healthcare facilities.
CM Rekha Gupta emphasized the need for the efficient and scientific use of resources to strengthen healthcare services in the capital. The integration of various institutions will enable better utilization of doctors, specialists, medical equipment, and infrastructure, providing patients with more organized and advanced medical services.
The meeting also addressed the status of hospital bed availability and patient pressure. It was noted that Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital has a total capacity of 650 beds, but currently, only about 250 beds are in use, leaving nearly 400 beds vacant. Conversely, both the Delhi Cancer Institute and GTB Hospital are experiencing patient numbers exceeding their capacity. GTB Hospital, with a base capacity of around 1,400 beds, currently has over 1,500 beds occupied.
According to patient statistics, GTB Hospital sees more than 1.4 million patients in outpatient departments (OPD) and approximately 95,000 patients utilizing inpatient department (IPD) services. Meanwhile, the Delhi Cancer Institute records about 127,000 OPD patients, and Rajiv Gandhi Hospital has approximately 287,000 OPD patients. These figures clearly indicate that GTB Hospital is under significant patient pressure, while some hospitals are not fully utilizing their capacity.
The Chief Minister stated that after the integration of hospitals, a systematic distribution of various super specialty services will be implemented to ensure patients receive better and specialized treatment. The proposal includes strengthening super specialty services such as cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, gastro surgery, nephrology, urology, rheumatology, and clinical hematology at Rajiv Gandhi Hospital. The Delhi State Cancer Institute will become a primary center for cancer treatment, consolidating services like radiation oncology, surgical oncology, nuclear medicine, palliative care, and radio imaging. Additionally, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital will enhance departments such as orthopedics, internal medicine, ENT, general surgery, neurosurgery, endocrinology, and ophthalmology.
CM Rekha Gupta also revealed that many hospitals possess modern medical equipment, but due to a lack of specialized staff and scattered resources, their full potential is not being realized. For instance, Rajiv Gandhi Hospital has advanced bronchoscopy facilities, the Delhi State Cancer Institute has a linear accelerator for radiotherapy, and GTB Hospital has a bone bank. Under the integrated system, better and coordinated use of all these expensive devices will be ensured.
The Chief Minister stated that the aim of this initiative is to develop world-class healthcare facilities in Delhi and establish the capital as a new center of medical excellence.
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