Govt notice to nursing homes over fire safety

In the notice, the government asked why the nursing homes did not conduct fire safety audits despite two directives issued on August 2, 2018, and on February 14, 2019.

The Delhi government has issued show cause notices to 1200-odd nursing homes in the city for not adhering to the government’s directive on ensuring fire safety audits, issued last year and again in the aftermath of the Karol Bagh fire incident that had claimed 17 lives earlier this year, senior government officials said on Sunday.

The Delhi government has issued show cause notices to 1200-odd nursing homes in the city for not adhering to the government’s directive on ensuring fire safety audits, issued last year and again in the aftermath of the Karol Bagh fire incident that had claimed 17 lives earlier this year. (Rishikesh Choudhary/HT)

The notice, which HT has reviewed, the nursing homes a month to respond, explaining why an “order of cancellation of registration” should not be issued against them for violation of Nursing Homes Registration Act.

In the notice, issued by the office of the Directorate General of Health Services, the government asked why the nursing homes did not conduct fire safety audits despite two directives issued on August 2, 2018, and on February 14, 2019, two days after a massive fire at a hotel in Karol Bagh had killed 17 persons.

There are more than 1,200 registered hospitals, nursing homes, maternity homes and health sub-centres in Delhi registered under the Act, of which less than 110 have valid NOCs obtained after clearing fire safety audits, government records showed.