Nursing homes in Mumbai get a breather from SC

The 1,100 nursing homes functioning in the housing societies without an independent entrance can heave a sigh of relief as the state government has agreed to allow them to function for another year.

“We will give them a status quo for one year,” said Bhaskar Jadhav, minister of state for urban development said in the legislative council. “The BMC too has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court seeking extension to have a separate entrance for nursing homes.”

Earlier, the apex court had fixed March 31 as the last date for getting an independent entrance. However, the nursing homes in question could not do it because of the restrictions in the development control (DC) rules. According to the rules, a nursing home in a housing society can have an independent entrance only if the DC rules are amended and only the state government has a right to amend the rules.

“The said nursing homes came up before 1991 and the clause of mandatory independent entrance came in 1992,” chief minister Ashok Chavan said. “We will take all necessary steps to remove hurdles in their functioning.”

Meanwhile, Jadhav informed the house that the government found 62 bogus doctors in the city and suburbs. “These doctors either do not have appropriate degrees or are practising without registration,” he said. “About 1,200 have not renewed their registrations.”

The government has asked the police to initiate criminal proceedings against the bogus doctors.

Dr Lalit Kapoor, adviser to medico-legal cell of Association of Medical Consultants (AMC), said: “This is good for everyone concerned — the public, the doctors as well as the public hospitals. The hospitals would be overburdened due to additional patients, had the nursing homes shut down.”

“But I hope they will find a permanent solution to the problem soon,” he said.