Nursing home rules flouted: L-G nod to suspend minister’s OSD

Officials said the fire at Baby Care New Born Hospital in Vivek Vihar which killed six newborns is a recent instance of “callousness” on the part of the Nursing Home Cell.

In the case of the Vivek Vihar hospital, officials said: “Das allowed registration of the nursing home without bothering to ascertain the pending litigation status as well as the undertaking given by the nursing home w.r.t. various statutory compliances including fire safety…” They added that Das clearly “abused” his powers.

According to officials, a complaint sent to the health department a few years ago alleged that “Jyoti Clinic & Nursing Home located at B-32, East Jyoti Nagar” had been illegally and unlawfully running despite cancellation of its registration in 2018 by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Officials said the health department conducted an inquiry into the matter and concluded that Das was solely responsible for renewal of registration of the clinic. “It has been alleged that Dr R N Das worked hand-in-glove with the management of the nursing home and provided unlawful shelter by keeping the licence pending unnecessarily,” said officials.

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) later took over the case, which prima facie said was a case of corruption, they said.

L-G House officials said the Health department confirmed that Dr Das was posted in the “Nursing Home Cell w.e.f. 10.01.2011 to 18.05.2015, 31.01.2018 to 02.09.2022. Given the long tenure of Dr Das in the Nursing Home Cell, the officer is clearly responsible for the alleged misconduct”.

Officials said the complaint also alleged that the nursing home applied for a renewal of its license in 2014. Still, it was kept pending by DGHS officials for a long time which helped the Nursing Home run unauthorisedly without a licence/certificate.

Bharadwaj alleged that his officers are being deliberately removed from his departments “to stall the ministry’s work”. “They are attempting to file cases against officers in my office… Within the last year, almost all advisors, fellows, and OSDs have been removed from my office. The L-G is hatching a conspiracy to obstruct the work of the government,” he alleged.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “Dr RN Das’s suspension is just the beginning; we will intensify the demand to suspend all officials involved in the Vivek Vihar tragedy… No one will be spared whether they are officials of the Delhi Fire Services or those who signed on these files.”

He said the Delhi BJP will also demand an investigation into the role of former Health Minister Satyendar Jain and the local AAP MLA.

Inquiry into nursing homes’ registration

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Vigilance has written to the Joint Commissioner, ACB, to conduct an urgent comprehensive inquiry into the registration of nursing homes in Delhi. There are 1,190 nursing homes, of which over a quarter operate without a valid licence.

Following this, the ACB has been directed to assess how many nursing homes are functioning without valid registrations; whether the registered nursing home complies with all prescribed norms; and if grant of registration or renewal by the Health department was done after 100% inspection.

The ACB has been asked to submit an action-taken report by June 5.

The Directorate of Vigilance has also written to the Health Secretary to bring the L-G observations to the notice of the health minister, saying there was a “total absence of ministerial oversight in the regulatory management of private health facilities”.