Nursing home rules flouted: LG approves suspension of minister’s OSD | Delhi News

Officials said the fire at the Baby Care New Born Hospital in Vivek Vihar, in which six newborns died, was the latest example of the “glory” of the Nursing Home Cell.

In the case of Vivek Vihar Hospital, officials said, “Das allowed the nursing home to be registered without bothering to check the status of the pending litigation as well as the commitments made by the nursing home with regard to various statutory provisions, including fire safety…” They added that Das had clearly “abused” his power.

According to officials, a complaint submitted to the health department a few years ago alleged that the ‘Jyoti Clinic & Nursing Home’, located at B-32, East Jyoti Nagar, was running illegally and unlawfully despite its registration being cancelled in 2018 by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Officials said the health department has launched an investigation into the matter and concluded that Das was solely responsible for renewing the clinic’s accreditation. “It is alleged that Dr. RN Das worked hand in glove with the management of the nursing home and provided unlawful protection by unnecessarily keeping the accreditation pending,” officials said.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) later took over the case, which at first glance appears to be a corruption case, it was said.

LG House officials said the Health Ministry has confirmed that Dr Das was posted in the ‘nursing home cell’ from January 10, 2011 to May 18, 2015 and from January 31, 2018 to September 2, 2022. Given Dr Das’s long tenure in the nursing home cell, the officer is clearly responsible for the alleged misconduct.”

Officials said the complaint also alleges that the nursing home applied for renewal of its license in 2014. Yet DGHS officials kept the application pending for a long time, which contributed to the nursing home continuing to operate illegally without a license/certificate.

Bharadwaj alleged that his officers were being deliberately removed from his departments “to hamper the working of the ministry”. “They are trying to frame charges against officers in my office… In the last one year, almost all the advisers, colleagues and OSDs have been removed from my office. The LG is hatching a conspiracy to hamper the working of the government,” he alleged.

Delhi BJP leader Virendra Sachdeva said, “The suspension of Dr. RN Das is just the beginning. We will intensify the demand for the suspension of all officials involved in the Vivek Vihar tragedy. … No one will be spared, neither Delhi Fire Service officials nor those who signed these files.”

He said the Delhi BJP will also demand an inquiry into the role of former health minister Satyendar Jain and the local AAP MP.

Study on the registration of nursing homes

Meanwhile, the Directorate of Vigilance has written to the Joint Commissioner ACB requesting that an urgent comprehensive inquiry be conducted into the registration of nursing homes in Delhi. There are 1,190 nursing homes, of which over a quarter are operating without a valid license.

The ACB was then directed to ascertain how many nursing homes are operating without valid registration, whether the registered nursing homes meet all the prescribed standards and whether the grant or renewal of registration by the Health Department was done after 100 percent inspection.

The ACB was asked to submit an action report by 5 June.

The Directorate of Vigilance has also written to the Minister of Health to draw LG’s attention to the observations, as there is “a complete absence of ministerial oversight in the regulation of private health facilities.”