New Delhi: At the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Deoghar, the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is operating at half its capacity while the Critical Care Unit (CCU) has not yet started functioning. Despite this, during the meeting of the institute’s apex decision-making body for the financial year 2025-26, there was no discussion on the status of these two vital services.This information came to light in response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by Surendra Pandey, an activist and resident of Giridih in Jharkhand.AIIMS Deoghar is an Institute of National Importance operating under the Union Ministry of Health. It was established with the objective of providing advanced medical services to a large section of Jharkhand, including the Santhal Pargana regions, making the status of critical medical facilities, such as the ICU and CCU, a matter of significant public interest.The establishment of AIIMS Deoghar was approved by the Union Cabinet in May 2018. Under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), a sum of Rs 1,103 crore was sanctioned for the institute at that time. The project envisaged a 750-bed hospital, 20 specialty and super-specialty departments, 15 operation theatres, and advanced medical facilities.The RTIIn his RTI application, Surendra Pandey sought details regarding the meetings of the institute body held during the financial year 2025-26, specifically inquiring about any discussions concerning facilities related to the ICU and CCU, bed availability, expansion plans, or existing deficiencies. The institute body is the highest decision-making body of the hospital. At AIIMS Deoghar, it is chaired by M.V. Padma Srivastava, and also has among other members Lok Sabha parliamentarians Nishikant Dubey and Sukhdeo Bhagat, and Rajya Sabha member Pradip Kumar Varma.Pandey had also sought information regarding the dates of the meetings, their agendas, details of the discussions held, certified copies of the decisions taken, and the corresponding action reports. He also requested that if no discussions had taken place regarding these subjects, explicit information to that effect be provided.In response to this application, Ajay Kumar Baranwal, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) at AIIMS Deoghar, stated on May 13, 2026, that a meeting of the institute body was held on January 22, 2026. However, its agenda did not include any items related to the ICU or CCU.Why was this discussion important?A discussion on these services during the institute body meeting was crucial because serious questions persist regarding both the availability and operational status of the ICU and CCU within the institute.In response to another RTI application filed by Surendra Pandey, AIIMS Deoghar stated that a total of 19 ICU beds have been sanctioned for the institute, including two isolation beds. However, only 10 of these beds are currently functional.The response also stated that 80 CCU beds have been sanctioned for the institute, yet the status of the CCU is listed as “Not Operational”. In other words, despite having been sanctioned, the CCU service has not yet started.According to the institute, the current staff deployed for ICU services comprises two consultants, one senior resident, 31 nursing officers, three senior nursing officers, and one ICU and OT technician. The response further noted that 34 ventilators and 26 cardiac monitors are available for the ICU.How many patients were admitted to the ICU?In the RTI application, Pandey also requested audit reports pertaining to the ICU and CCU for the years 2023–24 and 2024–25.According to the response, a total of 132 patients were admitted to the ICU in 2023-24. Of them, 97 patients were recorded under the “transferred out” category, while only three patients were discharged. During this same period, eight patients were recorded under the ‘Leave Against Medical Advice’ or LAMA category and three patients were referred elsewhere.In 2024-25, a total of 223 patients were admitted to the ICU. Of them, 138 patients were ‘transferred out,’ only one patient was discharged, and 18 patients were recorded under the LAMA category. It is worth noting that the LAMA category comprises patients who leave the hospital before completing their treatment, contrary to the advice of their physicians.The most notable fact within these statistics is the large number of patients categorised as ‘transferred out.’ However, the available documents do not clarify whether these patients were moved to another ward within the same hospital or transferred to a different hospital.What do experts say?Speaking to The Wire Hindi,a senior official of Delhi AIIMS said that in any government hospital of the level of AIIMS, all approved facilities are expected to operate at full capacity.“If 80 CCU beds are sanctioned in an institution and not even one of them is operational, then it cannot be considered a normal situation. When a facility is planned and approved, its objective is to operate it completely,” the official, who requested anonymity, said.The official said that cardiovascular diseases are among the serious health challenges in the country today and non-availability of specialised facilities like CCU can affect the treatment of patients suffering from relevant complications.According to him, “In such a situation, patients may have to be transferred to other hospitals or turn to private hospitals for help.”Commenting on the human resources available in the ICU, he said that the number of nursing staff available appears to be satisfactory, but the number of doctors appears to be relatively less.Questions raised on ‘transfer out’ and LAMAThe senior officer also raised questions on the figures related to ICU patients. According to him, it is not clear from the available documents whether ‘transfer out’ means sending to a general ward within the hospital or transfer to another hospital.“If the patient has been sent to another hospital, he should come under the category of referral,” he said. “But here the referral data is given separately. In such a situation, the real meaning of the word ‘transfer out’ is not clear.”The official further added that the number of LAMA cases in the ICU appears unusually high. According to RTI, eight patients were registered in LAMA category in the year 2023-24 and 18 in the year 2024-25.“Patients admitted in ICU are usually in critical condition. In such a situation, the increase in LAMA cases is a matter of concern. The reasons for this should be investigated,” he said.According to the official, this figure may also be an indication of dissatisfaction of patients or their families regarding the services or treatment of the hospital.‘Merely the counting of beds is not enough’The senior official said that the quality of an ICU cannot be evaluated only on the basis of number of beds, ventilators or other equipment.He said that analysis of indicators like infection rate, admission criteria, mortality rate, process of transferring patients from ICU to general ward and treatment results is also crucial.According to him, it would be important to know on what criteria patients are admitted to the ICU in AIIMS Deoghar and under what circumstances they are shifted from there.Response sought from AIIMS DeogharThe Wire Hindi has sent a detailed list of questions to AIIMS Deoghar regarding these issues. The institute has been asked why the CCU has not been started yet despite having 80 sanctioned CCU beds, when the remaining ICU beds will become operational, why these issues were not discussed in the institute body meeting, what is the definition of ‘transfer out’, whether LAMA cases have been reviewed or not, and what is the current status of availability of medical and technical staff required for the ICU and CCU.The report will be updated as and when a response is received from AIIMS Deoghar.Translated from the Hindi original, which appeared first in The Wire Hindi, by Naushin Rehman.