When files stall, disease doesn’t: CGHS patients stuck in life-threatening delays

NEW DELHI: For thousands of elderly and critically ill patients dependent on the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS), the biggest risk is no longer just the disease but delays in approval of treatments.A statement to federal health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda noted how life-saving procedures and drugs are stuck in a slow approval system, forcing patients to wait 45 to 120 days when many simply don’t have such time.As per the current mechanism, cases involving high-cost or unlisted therapies have to be cleared by the central Standing Technical Committee (STC) in Delhi, even after emergency treatment is prescribed by government experts. The process involves multiple layers of file movement and relies on meetings that only happen once every few months.For diseases such as cancer, heart failure and end-stage renal disease, this delay can be decisive.“Delay in treatment is tantamount to deprivation of life. While waiting for approval, the patient’s condition is deteriorating,” said TK Damodaran, secretary-general of the CGHS Beneficiary Welfare Association of India, which represents more than 4.3 million beneficiaries, the majority of whom are elderly.The association documented cases of critical treatment windows being missed. In liver cancer, nearly 23% of patients find their tumors inoperable while awaiting approval for ablation surgery. More than 40% of lung cancer patients who require immunotherapy experience disease progression while waiting. Heart failure patients who need advanced equipment face delays of more than three months, with deaths reported and documents still pending.Doctors say such delays impair clinical judgment. “These treatments are time-limited. If the intervention is delayed, the outcome worsens significantly,” said a senior expert from a government hospital.We attempted to contact the CGHS director for comment but received no response. He neither answered calls nor responded to queries sent via WhatsApp.This issue raises serious legal issues. In the case of Parmanand Katara v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that protection of life is of paramount importance. In Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity v. State of West Bengal, the court held that failure to provide timely treatment violated the right to life under Article 21.Despite advances in digital health systems, approvals remain centralized, with decisions for patients across the country being made by a single panel in Delhi. Health policy experts say that creates inequities and turns patients’ rights to treatment into a lengthy administrative process.The association urged urgent reforms including devolving approval powers, setting strict timetables and deeming approval if a decision is not made within a few days. It also seeks automatic approval for elderly patients and emergency provision of life-saving care.As India pushes for faster, technology-driven healthcare delivery, the gap between medical urgency and administrative response is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.“Doctors prescribe medication immediately. The system responds after a few months,” Damodaran said.