State orders inspection of hospitals registered under Nursing Home Act
Maharashtra health department on Saturday issued directives to conduct inspection of all hospitals registered under Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act, 1949 and Maharashtra Nursing Homes (Amendment) Rules, 2021 in the state
Pune: The state health department on Saturday issued directives to conduct inspection of all hospitals registered under the Bombay Nursing Home Registration Act, 1949 and the Maharashtra Nursing Homes (Amendment) Rules, 2021 in the state, officials said.
The development takes place after public health minister Prakash Abitkar gave the orders at the meetings held in Mumbai on January 1 and Pune on January 3. The directions have been issued to all health officers of municipal corporations, district health officers and civil surgeons of districts.
Dr Nitin Ambadekar, director of health services, issued the orders, stating that district-level teams must immediately commence inspections of registered hospitals within their jurisdictions. “During inspections, the provisions stated in the Acts are followed by the hospitals should be checked,” he said.
As per officials, the inspections aim to ensure compliance with provisions outlined in the Acts. “The team will check the treatment tariff displayed in prominent areas, availability of proper biomedical waste management facilities and valid fire NOC certification amongst others,’ reads the order, a copy of which is seen by HT.
Abitkar during his visit to Pune on Friday had expressed displeasure over the effective implementation of nursing home rules in the state.
“Given the huge workload, the health department is unable to strictly enforce the Maharashtra Nursing Homes (Amendment) Rules, 2021. There are already provisions mentioned in the Nursing Home Act and there is a need for its right implementation. We all should start working on accountability of Nursing Home Act and other rules,” he had said on Friday.
As per officials, the hospitals found to be non-compliant will be given a month to make necessary improvements. Post the grace period, a re-inspection will be carried out to verify corrective actions. Hospitals failing to meet the prescribed standards even after the second inspection will face legal action.
The district officials have been instructed to submit detailed reports of inspections to the Directorate of Health Services within a month.
Dr Nina Borade, health chief, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), said, “A meeting will be held with all ward and zonal medical officers to discuss the inspection drive and action. Recently, PMC had conducted surprise inspections of a few private hospitals in the city,” she said.
Dr Sanjay Patil, national secretary, Hospital Board of India, said, “All private hospitals across the state regularly do the compliance for fire safety and follow the Nursing Home and Bio-Medical Waste Rules. New hospitals are given registration only after compliance with these norms. Even the local bodies after every six months inspect hospitals to check these compliances. Additional inspection would create unrest amongst hospital owners. Hospitals should know the scope and plan of inspection. There should be uniformity across the state during the drive.”
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