HC orders survey illegal nursing homes

The court directed the DHS to formulate a proper formula indicating the requirements a nursing home has to fulfil and further non-registration would be an offence.

The bench had earlier asked the police to find out the number of such nursing homes in east Delhi during the hearing of a petition by Shad Anwar, who had alleged that his newly born child had died at Dua Nurshing Home in east Delhi because the case was handled by some unqualified doctors.

Anwar had alleged that these doctors, who pretended to be qualified, competent and skilled, were in fact not qualified to practise allopathic system of medicine nor even entitled to deliver the baby applying forceps. The nursing home had no operation theatre, incubators and other necessary equipment, he had alleged.

When the court wanted to know what action was being taken by the city government against illegal nursing homes, Additional Standing Counsel Mukta Gupta sought two weeks’ time to discuss the matter with higher authorities and the court deferred the matter for further hearing on November 29.

Anwar had filed a complaint with police for appropriation against the doctors but they informed the court that action could only be initiated by the DHS.

Pursuant to the notice issued by the court, the Director of Health Services informed that as per the existing rules, only a fine upto Rs 500 could be imposed on the nursing home and for that a complaint had to be filed before a magistrate.

He informed that the DHS had received 433 applications from various unregistered nursing homes and majority of these nursing homes were fulfilling the requisite medical standards as prescribed under the Delhi Nursing Home Regulations.

Regarding the penal provision, the court said, "We find this to be an insufficient provision to curb the tendency of unscrupulous persons running nursing homes without complying with the medical standard laid down in law and without even bothering to get themselves registered."

The court said that it had to be looked into whether the DHS could file complaints in the court as was being done by the Food Adulteration Department or an FIR had to be registered with the police.