Delhi adds 1,288 hosp beds; 5L+ emergency calls handled in 2025

New Delhi: Delhi’s healthcare infrastructure saw a modest expansion in 2025-26 with the addition of 1,288 beds, even as the government plans a much larger capacity boost through new hospitals and remodelling of existing facilities, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26.

The total number of beds in the city increased from 62,514 in 2024-25 to 63,802 in 2025-26. The increase has largely come from Government of India hospitals, other autonomous bodies and private nursing homes, while there was no addition in bed capacity under hospitals run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council.

Within Delhi government hospitals, beds rose from 14,380 to 15,659, an increase of 1,279 beds or about 8.89 per cent, even as the number of hospitals remained unchanged at 40, indicating that expansion is taking place within existing facilities. However, access remains limited, with the bed population ratio rising only marginally from 2.82 to 2.84 beds per 1,000 people, still well below the World Health Organisation norm of five beds per 1,000 population.

Private hospitals, nursing homes and voluntary organisations account for 53.49 per cent of total beds, followed by Delhi government hospitals at 24.54 per cent, Government of India hospitals at 15.94 per cent and local bodies at 6.03 per cent, underscoring the dominance of the private sector, the report read. Delhi plans to add over 15,000 hospital beds through remodelling and new projects, the Economic Survey said. Emergency response improved, with CATS raising patient shifting rate to 84.3 per cent. Medical institutions rose to 3,878, with new recruitments underway. Under PM-JAY, over 7.45 lakh cards were issued. TB targets were met in the public sector, while dengue and other vector-borne diseases saw a sharp

decline in 2025.