Nearly half a dozen elderly residents were allegedly removed from the municipal corporation’s (MC’s) old-age home in Sector 27 on Tuesday after civic officials reportedly entered the premises by climbing the gates and breaking open the locks, triggering concerns over their care and safety.
The alleged action came days after the MC terminated the five-year contract of M/s Federation of Digital Health Services, which had been allotted the facility last year to operate the old-age home. The civic body reportedly cited violation of terms and conditions for the termination.
The agency, however, disputed the MC’s claim that the facility was non-operational and alleged that the premises were vacated despite a personal hearing on its appeal being scheduled for September 30 at the Haryana New Civil Secretariat.
An agency official said the MC issued a notice on Tuesday offering an opportunity for a personal hearing but “hurriedly” vacated the premises before the hearing. The notice was issued by the MC’s joint commissioner-2.
Himadri Pandey, project head of TuHiTu Bliss, an integrated healthcare and wellness facility that was providing services at the home, along with doctors and staff, raised concerns over the alleged shifting of a medically supervised resident.
“Forcible removal of a medically supervised resident without proper clinical assessment, medical handover, documentation and continuity-of-care arrangements raises serious patient-safety concerns,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}“Forcible removal of a medically supervised resident without proper clinical assessment, medical handover, documentation and continuity-of-care arrangements raises serious patient-safety concerns,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}Pandey said the team was also preparing to introduce high-tech medical equipment and had repeatedly sought infrastructure-related facilities from the administration.
The seven-storey old-age home, built at a cost of around ₹12 crore, has 90-92 rooms and was designed to accommodate up to 160-184 senior citizens. It has a nursing station, medical rooms, general ward, dining hall, kitchen, lifts, and a gym.
The development comes amid an earlier dispute over the facility’s proposed conversion into a rest house. In August 2024, a civil court directed the MC to maintain the status quo on the proposal.
Meanwhile, the MC has put up a board outside the facility identifying it as the office of its assistant engineer.
MC commissioner and joint commissioner-2 did not respond to calls seeking their response to the allegations.