Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh on Tuesday announced that the old and defunct lifts at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital will be replaced with modern lifts, following a recent incident in which a deceased person had to be carried by hospital staff due to non-functional lifts.

The incident that occurred last month was flagged by the hospital administration, prompting a high-level review meeting chaired by Mr. Singh, where senior hospital officials were also present.

Stating that “healthcare is a fundamental right and not a privilege”, the Minister directed the Medical Superintendent of the hospital to prepare a crowd-management plan that includes patient flow lanes. 

He also instructed the officials to make 14 new ICU beds operational. Other directions from the Minister include upgradation of the emergency ward with a ventilator-based monitoring system and covering exposed electrical wires in the wards.

“Under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, we are working round the clock to transform every hospital into a modern, efficient, and patient-friendly facility,” Mr. Singh said.