Saturday, June 29, 2019

20,000 clinical establishments face closure over registration
Of 50,000, Only 28,000 Have Applied For Regn

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

Chennai:29.06.2019

Nearly 20,000 clinical establishments, including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, laboratories and scan centres, are facing closure as they have failed to apply for registration with the state health department under the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishments Act, 2018, before May 31, the directorate of medical services has said.

So far, the directorate has received about 28,000 applications from various establishments, against the expected 50,000.

In March 2018, the state framed legislation making it mandatory for all clinical establishments — public or private — to register with the government.

“As of now, these establishments are illegal. Currently, most big hospitals and nursing homes have applied but many small clinics, consultation rooms and blood banks are yet to apply,” said director of medical services Dr Mohanan.

The deadline for registration ended on March 31. As per the act, from June 31, the DMS can initiate action or close down those establishments which have not applied for registration. “We are seeking permission from the state to extend the deadline with a fine,” he said.

Officials are inspecting hospitals and establishments to ensure they fulfil infrastructure and human resource requirements specified in the act. So far, nearly 150 establishments in the city have been inspected and joint directors are visiting hospitals in the districts. If the hospitals qualify, they will be given licence for five years.

The new rules, health department officials say, were brought in to standardize establishments under the allopathic or Indian medicine stream. Tamil Nadu lab associations and unani practitioners moved the court as they found the specifications in the act “too stringent”. It specifies floor space requirement, waiting area, safe drinking water supply and toilets. Lab associations, for instance, said single room labs in rural areas in the state may not fulfill the requirement. “The courts have made registration mandatory,” a senior official said.

Doctors’ associations too approached the state government to relax rules for consultation rooms, where there are no injections or instruments used.

“They have made it mandatory for such clinics to have provisions for disposal of biomedical waste when they generate none. We have approached the government seeking exemption,” said Dr K Senthil, Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association.

Most of these doctors meet patients for reviews, where they see test reports and alter prescriptions, he said.

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