New Delhi, Sep 18 The Delhi High Court was told on Friday that a dedicated toll-free number '102' has been rolled out to assist citizens seeking to know about the availability of ICU beds in Delhi government hospitals.
The Delhi government informed a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Manmeet P S Arora that operators on the '102' helpline, who were earlier only dealing with calls for ambulances, have been given access to the dashboard on ICU beds in the government-run hospitals.
The government's report to the court said that at present, there are thirty operators manning the helpline.
Considering a population of around 3 crore, the bench remarked that 30 operators were too few for the capital and asked the authorities to take steps to increase the number of lines and operators after analysing the data.
"Presently, there are 30 lines and 30 operators for the toll-free helpline. This number is required to be increased as the total number of calls are stated to be 2,200 per day and there are 500 call drops," observed the court.
If the lines and operators need to be increased, suggestions can be given to the health secretary so that necessary steps can be taken, the court said.
The helpline was also tested in court by the government official present for the proceedings, who called on '102' to inquire about the availability of ICU beds.
A call was made on the helpline and the operator was able to assist the official, the court noted.
The court was hearing a suo motu case it initiated in 2017 over the alleged lack of critical care in government hospitals here.
Dealing with the issue of unused medical equipment, the court said the Delhi government hospitals did not have a uniform HR policy and they were facing difficulties in recruiting doctors and staff.
The court asserted that the Health Secretary has to deal with the issue in a centralised manner and directed him to hold a meeting with the stakeholders on the issue of contractual recruitment.
