Ranit Kr. Singh , New Delhi - The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday mandated a comprehensive, nationwide audit of intensive care units (ICUs) and nursing colleges to evaluate critical infrastructure and manpower shortages. A bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan rejected requests from states and Union Territories for a six-to-nine-month window, strictly curtailing the gap-analysis timeline to two months.

The apex court emphasized that India’s rapidly growing population has severely outpaced its existing healthcare capacity, making immediate regulatory intervention a national necessity. This directive stems from a consumer case involving a Kolkata man seeking compensation for his wife's 2013 demise, which subsequently led the Centre to introduce Model ICU guidelines. Under these expert-designed rules, hospitals must implement a three-tiered classification system—ranging from basic Level 1 to specialized Level 3 facilities—conforming to uniform standards for personnel, equipment, and treatment protocols.

Concurrently, the Indian Nursing Council must inspect and report on the practical, hands-on training facilities available across 800 affiliated colleges. Expressing urgency over the systemic deficits in the country's medical network, the bench directed, “States/UTs shall ensure gap assessment exercise is undertaken by them and completed in two months.”