Supreme Court to give unauthorised nursing homes a year more

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is planning to move the Supreme Court on the issue of 1,100 nursing homes being branded unauthorised from Thursday.

The apex court had ruled that if nursing homes housed in residential buildings did not have their own separate entrance ready by March 31, they should be shut down.

The civic authorities believe this will affect the city’s healthcare system. “Around 30% of the total beds in Mumbai are provided by nursing homes. If we close them down, it would cause a lot of inconvenience to the people. We will make an appeal in the Supreme Court to renew their registration for at least one more year. The nursing homes, too, will move the apex court,” a senior civic official said.

There are around 1,500 nursing homes in the city. They account for 14,000-15,000 hospital beds and handle nearly 70% of the city’s healthcare needs.

Two weeks ago, the Association of Medical Consultants requested the government to change the development control rule, which states that a nursing home in a residential society should have a separate entrance.