Delhi’s Health Department has increased its budget, started new systems and initiated several infrastructure and procurement reforms, but a legislative committee has flagged a persistent gap between what has been promised and what has actually been delivered.The committee reviewed the Delhi government’s Action Taken Note (ATN), submitted on May 27, 2025, in response to observations by the Comptroller and Auditor General. Across 11 areas, it found that several recommendations remain at the stage of being “planned”, “under process” or “initiated”, with limited hospital-wise data to establish whether reforms have translated into better services. Departments have been asked to report their status as of June 30, 2026.On staffing, the government has formed a committee headed by consultant SB Shashank to examine a permanent Teaching Specialist cadre, but there is still no cadre, recruitment rules or report. A vacancy-tracking mechanism involving UPSC and DSSSB is being created. The department has also not confirmed the proposed special recruitment drive for 113 Nursing Officer posts reserved for persons with disabilities. The recommended 10 per cent leave-reserve staffing buffer was not addressed, while outsourcing of paramedical staff continues. One improvement cited was a reduction in vacancies in the Drug Control Department from 51.72 per cent to 33.1 per cent.In hospital services, the department reported improvements in toilets, drinking water, seating, OPD counters and the rollout of NextGen E-Hospital. At Lok Nayak Hospital, toilets are reportedly cleaned three to four times a day and the main operation theatre is functional again. At CNBC, working water and toilet facilities, a new waiting area and a proposed six-bed mother-and-newborn ICU were cited. A third OT at CNBC has helped reduce paediatric surgery waiting times. Burn-surgery waiting at LNH has reportedly fallen from six to eight months to six to eight weeks, while ENT waiting at CNBC is now one to one-and-a-half months.However, the committee said hospital-wise IPHS compliance data and current registration, consultation and pharmacy waiting-time data were not provided. Service-improvement data covered only three districts. New Delhi district still has no Delhi government hospital. Seven modular OTs have been completed but are not yet operating at full capacity. A crisis-management plan for biological disasters is still being drafted, while only five hospitals have completed disaster-management plans.On drugs and equipment, the Central Procurement Agency has been overhauled, essential-drug tenders issued and four additional warehouses established. Seven NABL-accredited laboratories have been empanelled, with 695 routine samples tested in 2024-25, of which two were found substandard; of 23 complaint-based samples, 10 were substandard.Yet, despite the department’s claim of “100 per cent essential drug availability”, hospital-wise stock data proving that there had been no shortages was not submitted. Drug testing can still take two to three months. The department did not provide details of action against suppliers whose samples failed quality checks, while no differential-cost or risk-purchase money dating back to 2016-17 has been recovered. Three suppliers who had defaulted earlier were also given repeat orders.On infrastructure, Delhi has targeted 1,679 new beds in 2025 and another 1,193 in 2026. Dwarka and Burari hospitals are functional. Four hospitals and seven semi-permanent facilities are proposed under a public-private partnership model, with bidding for a transaction adviser completed in January 2026. But the committee noted that most other projects remain at the proposal, correspondence or tender stage. The recommended Chief Secretary-led high-level committee to monitor land acquisition and construction has not been formed.Under centrally funded schemes, 98 per cent of ASHA posts are filled and trained, first-trimester pregnancy registration has reached 82 per cent, and 90.94 per cent of mothers completed four antenatal check-ups in 2024-25. But only 28.09 per cent of funds under the National Programme for Health Care of the Elderly were utilised in 2024-25. Ground-level vacancies remain, while the department did not directly respond to the proposal for a Tamil Nadu-style compulsory pregnancy-registration system.The committee also flagged gaps in medical regulation. The Delhi Medical Council was dissolved on June 19, 2025 and has not been reconstituted, while the Delhi Nursing Council remains under process. Anti-quackery raids have not been conducted. The Pharmacy Council has been reconstituted and is functioning, but Pharmacy Practice Regulations have not been notified. The drug-testing laboratory is yet to secure NABL accreditation.Under the EWS scheme, helpdesks, nodal officers, referral centres and grievance mechanisms have been established and government hospitals have been onboarded onto NextGen E-Hospital. But committee members’ own hospital visits found scope for improvement. Data on EWS patients treated, complaints resolved, denial of treatment and bed utilisation was not provided. Biometric verification has not been implemented. Despite repeated assurances, the Health Helpline has also not been launched.On AYUSH, the department cited a 4,000 sq ft drug store, identified land for permanent storage, a reviewed Essential Drugs List and testing of medicines under PLIM protocols. But the committee found no policy-level decision, budget parity or integration plan demonstrating that AYUSH has been brought at par with allopathic services. Manpower, drug-testing infrastructure, equipment and other requirements remain pending.Published on September 10, 2026