New Delhi: Cancer patients at the Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI) are confronting escalating uncertainty as severe staff shortages and administrative delays have paralyzed critical diagnostic services, compelling many to seek expensive tests at private facilities or endure exhausting queues.
Critical Diagnostic Services Paralyzed
Patients report that access to PET scans, which are essential for detecting cancer spread, monitoring treatment effectiveness, and identifying recurrence, has become increasingly difficult. "The machine exists, but there is no specialist to operate it," lamented one patient. "We are routinely referred to private hospitals, which many of us simply cannot afford."
Another patient emphasized the life-threatening consequences of these delays: "Our entire treatment protocol depends on timely scans. When these investigations are postponed, our lives are effectively put on hold."
Systemic Staffing Crisis
The crisis stems from a profound manpower shortage, with nearly 60% of sanctioned positions vacant across clinical, technical, and administrative cadres. Of the 814 approved posts, a staggering 491 remain unfilled. The institute has also operated without a regular director since 2018, compounding administrative challenges.
The shortage is most acute in nuclear medicine, leaving expensive infrastructure severely underutilized. A Rs 15.42-crore medical cyclotron, installed in 2017 to produce radioactive tracers for PET scans, has remained non-functional since 2019 due to the absence of trained personnel. With only three cyclotrons existing in Delhi, this lapse disproportionately impacts government-dependent patients.
Failed Recruitment and Transfer Attempts
DSCI formally wrote to higher authorities on January 21, highlighting the urgent need for nuclear medicine faculty from the Central Health Services cadre. The communication cited repeated unsuccessful recruitment attempts despite the critical nature of the positions.
Officials revealed that although a suitable officer was reportedly approved by the Government of India, no formal communication or joining materialized, prompting renewed intervention through both the Delhi government and the Union Health Ministry.
Last year, the Union Health Ministry ordered the transfer of a nuclear medicine specialist from Safdarjung Hospital to DSCI, but this posting never materialized. Responding to inquiries, Safdarjung Hospital PRO Sakshi Chhugh stated that the hospital submitted its response to the Directorate General of Health Services, and the matter remains under consideration. "Any decision will be taken by the competent authority," she clarified.
Imminent License Expiration and Wider Impact
The urgency has intensified as DSCI's PET-CT license is scheduled to expire in September. Compounding the problem, the institute lacks a separate CT scanner, forcing the PET system to double for radiodiagnosis purposes. Officials warn that if PET services halt, nuclear medicine procedures, cancer staging, and radiation planning will be severely compromised.
DSCI media spokesperson Dr. Pragya Shukla noted that PET-CT scans for patients covered under the Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK) are free at empanelled hospitals. However, she acknowledged that non-Delhi residents face significant difficulties, often having to pay out-of-pocket at private facilities.
Broader Institutional Consequences
Highlighting the wider institutional fallout, senior advocate Ashok Agarwal, in a representation to the Chief Secretary, warned that the staffing crisis has critically weakened DSCI's capacity to function as a tertiary cancer care center. He flagged dangerous delays in chemotherapy and radiation treatments, persistent drug shortages, and disruptions in essential investigations, all disproportionately affecting economically disadvantaged patients who rely exclusively on public healthcare facilities.
This systemic failure at a premier cancer institute underscores the broader challenges facing public healthcare infrastructure, where critical investments in technology are rendered ineffective without corresponding investments in human resources and administrative efficiency.
