Delhi Government's Effort to Tackle Mpox Amid Staffing Controversy

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj announced that the city government is maintaining strict vigilance on the mpox situation, closely monitoring both central and state actions. Earlier, hospitals were instructed to set up isolation rooms. Bharadwaj criticized Lt Governor VK Saxena for delays in staffing hospitals, a claim refuted by the Lieutenant Governor's Secretariat.

Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj announced on Friday that the city government is maintaining a strict vigil on the mpox situation and closely monitoring developments.

During a press conference, he said that they are carefully observing the actions taken by both the central and state governments. ''We are closely monitoring the situation. We are keeping a close watch on the actions taken by both the central and (other) state governments,'' said Bharadwaj. Earlier this week, the Delhi government directed the LNJP Hospital, GTB Hospital, and Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital to set up isolation rooms for the management of suspected and confirmed mpox cases while emphasizing that no patients had been detected. The LNJP Hospital has been designated as the nodal facility while the other two are on standby.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern in view of its prevalence and spread across many parts of Africa.

Meanwhile, Bharadwaj criticized Lt Governor VK Saxena for delays in staffing new and existing hospitals. While the Delhi government is expanding infrastructure, including the construction of four new hospitals and the enhancement of facilities in 13 others, the failure to appoint doctors and paramedical staff has rendered these efforts incomplete, Bharadwaj noted. He emphasized that around 14,000 new beds are being added to Delhi's hospitals but these would be of little use without adequate staffing.

Bharadwaj accused the Lieutenant Governor's Office of inaction and questioned why no meetings were held during the past two years to address the staffing issue.

Reacting to Bharadwaj's allegations, the Lieutenant Governor's Secretariat accused him of ''lying'' and ''misleading'' on the issue. ''The health department under Bharadwaj and his predecessors never created the said approximately 37,000 posts or asked the services department to make recruitment against them. Despite having sanctioned the construction of hospitals way back in 2019,'' it said.

It added that the creation of posts is a responsibility of the department concerned, in consultation with the administrative reforms, planning, and finance departments. ''All these are transferred subjects under the AAP government. After creation, they are sent to the services department for filling (of posts). Even the first step has not been taken till now, though these hospitals were to be completed within six months to a year,'' it said.

Regarding existing vacancies, the Secretariat mentioned that the process of filling them is ongoing and is expected to be completed by December.