HC directs Delhi govt to ensure advanced cardiac life support service installed in premises

NEW DELHI, (PTI): The Delhi High Court has directed the city government to ensure the advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) service is installed on the court premises before December 6.

It also asked the Delhi government to explore the possibility of either stationing ACLS ambulances at district courts or erecting porta cabins for this service there.

A bench of Justices Manmohan and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora asked the Delhi High Court Medical Committee to identify or earmark within two weeks space for setting up the ACLS services on the high court premises.

The high court further directed the Delhi Metro to explore the possibility of setting up of the ACLS services at all major interchange stations within six weeks and file an affidavit in this regard before the next date of hearing, that is, December 6.

”The Government of NCT of Delhi is directed to ensure that the ACLS service is installed in the Delhi High Court premises before the next date of hearing. As far as the district courts are concerned, the Government of NCT of Delhi is directed to explore the possibility of either stationing ACLS ambulances at each and every district court or to allow erection of porta cabins for provision of ACLS services in the district courts,” the bench, in its September 21 order, said.

The high court directed that the committee and the Delhi government’s Health Department in consultation with the respective district judges shall ensure that the entire staff in the trial courts are regularly sensitized about cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) guidelines of compression-only life support (COLS) for management of the victim with cardiopulmonary arrest and also about the use of Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

The bench was informed by one of the committee members who is the Chief Medical Officer attached to the high court that there is space available in the high court for setting up the ACLS service.

The high court, in 2018, had initiated a PIL on its own relating to the requirement of basic life support system at various public places.

It had asked various authorities, including the Centre through standing counsel Ajay Digpaul, Delhi government, Railways, DMRC and courts to inform it what steps they have taken to establish the centres giving basic cardiac life support (BCLS) as well as ACLS.

It had also asked regarding the infrastructure already provided and what they are going to provide in the new centres and also the number of personnel deployed at such centres and the future roadmap.

The court had also said that the affidavit shall also highlight about the training given to the persons who are going to be deployed at the centres and inform about the availability of ambulances.

On September 21, in pursuance to the high court’s query whether BCLS as well as ACLS facilities are available at the Delhi High Court and the district courts here, the counsel for the high court handed over a status report on behalf of the registrar general as per which ACLS facility is not available at Patiala House, Karkardooma, Dwarka and Rouse Avenue Courts.

The report said Patiala House and Rohini courts do not have a physical infrastructure for setting up an ACLS centre and Tis Hazari Court has one ACLS ambulance which is stationed daily to transport patients to nearby Delhi Government empanelled private hospitals.

It further said that Rohini court has one Centralised Accident and Trauma (CAT) ambulance with essential equipments, a driver and one emergency medical technician to provide 24 hours services. (PTI)