Patients at the Delhi State Cancer Institute are waiting weeks to months for essential diagnostic tests while a multimillion-rupee machine sits idle [1].
This failure in operational capacity threatens the lives of the city's poorest cancer patients who rely on the capital's only government-run dedicated cancer hospital. The inability to provide timely diagnostics can lead to disease progression and delayed treatment interventions.
The Delhi High Court said the situation last week, highlighting the waste of public resources [1]. At the center of the controversy is a PET cyclotron machine costing Rs 15.42 crore that has remained non-functional for years [1]. Despite the investment, the equipment is not serving the patients from Delhi and northern India who travel to the facility for care.
Patients report significant delays for critical imaging, including CT scans, ultrasounds, and PET-CT scans [1]. Some radiotherapy appointments have been scheduled as far out as next year [1]. These delays force impoverished families to seek private alternatives, often resulting in out-of-pocket expenses totaling thousands of rupees [1].
The hospital administration faces scrutiny over insufficient equipment maintenance and a lack of operational capacity. The gap between the available technology and the actual service delivery has left the facility unable to meet the demand of its patient population [1].
“Patients are waiting weeks to months for essential diagnostic tests.”
The situation at the Delhi State Cancer Institute illustrates a systemic failure where capital expenditure on high-tech medical equipment does not translate into patient care. When the only state-funded facility for cancer treatment fails to maintain its machinery, it creates a healthcare bottleneck that disproportionately affects low-income populations who cannot afford private diagnostics.
