In a significant move aiming to enhance the healthcare facilities in the Trans-Yamuna area and develop the Capital as the hub of medical excellence, the Delhi government is mulling the integration of four big hospitals — Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI), Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) and the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) — and set up an autonomous multispeciality advanced facility similar to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), The Indian Express has learnt.
The proposal — prepared by an expert committee under the Delhi Health department — has suggested naming the advanced healthcare facility as the Delhi Institute of Medical Sciences, and bringing RGSSH, IHBAS and the DSCI under GTB Hospital as the leading institution. The four hospitals are located close to each other in Northeast Delhi’s Dilshad Garden area. Strengthening mental health services at IHBAS — emulating the standards set by National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) — has also been proposed.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta recently held a meeting to discuss the proposal, which was also attended by Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh, officials said. “The mode of governance may be autonomous in nature, similar to AIIMS,” an official said, adding the new integrated facility is likely to be spread across hundreds of acres.
The move is expected to improve access to specialised treatment and expand scope of medical education and research. “The objective is to ensure hassle-free healthcare facilities for the public, while also reducing the burden on GTB Hospital, which currently sees around 10,000 patients every day,” a senior government official said.
The official added, “Such an integration would help optimise faculty, infrastructure and paramedical resources across the institutes.” Under the proposal, the government is also considering constructing an underground tunnel to allow safe public movement between the hospitals.
GTB Hospital is run by the Delhi government and is associated with the University College of Medical Science (UCMS), University of Delhi; and, therefore, it also serves as a training center for undergraduate and post-graduate medical students.
Staff posted here include doctors from the Central Health Services cadre as well as the Delhi government’s non-teaching specialist cadre, officials said. “This integration plan will also increase PG seats by bringing together teaching posts across the hospitals and recruiting more faculty…MBBS seats will also increase..This could be easier because of the academic strength of UCMS and GTB, which the other hospitals have struggled to attract so far,” said an official.
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RGSSH and the DSCI are society-run hospitals with relatively lesser footfall and most staff here are hired on a contractual basis. “For instance, RGSSH has around 650 beds but only about 250 are being used. Most patients go to GTB because of its treatment, out patient department (OPD) and testing facilities,” an official pointed out.
The proposal aims to streamline services and help distribute patients to hospitals according to their specialities. It will also allow better use of the infrastructure, staff and land available at RGSSH, the DSCI and the IHBAS. “All three hospitals have facilities for
cardiology, pulmonology, gastroenterology, nephrology, orthopaedics, radiation oncology, palliative medicine, anaesthesia, internal medicine, ENT and general surgery. However, several specialities overlap across these hospitals, leading to duplication of services and scattered resources,” an official said.
Data shared by officials highlight a sharp difference in patient load across the three hospitals. The GTB Hospital’s OPD sees over 14 lakh patients annually, while the inpatient department (IPD) records around 95,000 admissions. All 28 operation theatres here are functional. In comparison, the DSCI sees around 1.27 lakh OPD patients and about 6,600 IPD admissions, with only two of its seven operation theatres functional. RGSSH sees around 2.87 lakh OPD patients and about 8,700 IPD admissions, with six of its 12 operation theatres functional.
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Officials said the nearly 650 beds at RGSSH could be dedicated mainly to super-speciality services. Oncology-related services could be centred at the DSCI. Some departments may also be reorganised. For instance, pulmonary medicine could be shifted to RGSSH, while endocrinology services may be strengthened at GTB Hospital, officials said.
The proposal also suggests that preclinical and para-clinical departments such as pathology, microbiology and biochemistry be brought together at the USMS to support teaching and academic work.
Moreover, GTB Hospital’s building is around 40 years old and requires upgrades. “There is no space to build a new block there. A new trauma block, ICU building, and renovation of the emergency, OPD, IPD and a casualty block are planned. Under the integration plan, new construction could come up on available land at IHBAS,” an official said.
IHBAS is spread over around 111 acres, with hospital buildings covering about 20 acres. Some of its blocks are old and in poor condition.
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RGSSH is spread across nearly 13 acres with seven blocks, but only about 200 beds are currently operational in three blocks. The DSCI is located on about 4.6 acres with three functional blocks.
