CAG report flags ‘Shortage of staff, no toilets and funds misuse’ in Mohalla Clinics

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on the Public Health Infrastructure and Management of Health Services has raised concerns about the operational effectiveness of Delhi’s Mohalla Clinics, a key component of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) healthcare initiative.

The CAG’s report has highlighted that 21 AAP’s world class Mohalla Clinics did not have toilets, 15 did not have a power backup six did not have any table for check-ups and 12 did not have accessibility for the physically disabled. In AYUSH dispensaries, 17 of the 49 inspected dispensaries had no power backup, seven had no toilets and 14 had no facility for drinking water.

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Further, the CAG report also flagged underutilization of funds received under the ‘Emergency Covid-19 Response Plan’. The report reveals that only Rs 582.84 crore of the Rs 787.91 crore provided by the Centre for tackling COVID-19 was used by the Delhi government, with a substantial Rs 83.14 crore out of Rs 119.85 crore earmarked for drugs and supplies, including PPE and masks, remaining unspent.

The CAG report also highlights the minimal increase in hospital beds across Delhi. Despite budgetary commitments from 2016-17 to 2020-21 to add 32,000 beds, only 1,357 beds were added. It also shows alarmingly high bed occupancy rates in major hospitals, ranging from 101% to 189%. This suggests that hospitals were forced to accommodate more than one patient per bed or even made patients lie on the floor due to overcrowding.

Another critical issue is staffing shortage, with the report citing a deficit of 8,194 healthcare staff, including a 21% shortage of nurses and a 38% shortage of paramedics. Furthermore, long wait times for surgeries were reported, such as 2-3 months for general surgeries at Lok Nayak Hospital and 6-8 months for burns/plastic surgeries. The report also highlighted underutilised infrastructure at multiple hospitals, including idle operation theatres (OTs), unused ICU beds, and non-functional equipment at facilities like Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital (RGSSH) and Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital (JSSH).