Private Hospitals Flouting Law

Patna, 7 March 2018: Several private hospitals in the state capital are flouting The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, the government accepted on Tuesday, but said it was helpless in the face of a Patna High Court order restraining it from taking punitive action against such hospitals.

A majority of these hospitals are located along Patna Bypass road, which is a part of NH-31.

The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act provides for registration and regulation of all clinical establishments in the country with a view to prescribe the minimum standards.

Bihar adopted and implemented it after formulating rules for it in 2013.

Health minister Mangal Pandey, while replying to a query by JDU MLC Ramchandra Bharti in the Legislative Council, said on Tuesday that it was "partially true" that several private hospitals located along the Bypass were flouting the law.

Pandey said that registration of hospitals under the law was going on, but "the high court in its order in case no. CWJC 9091/16 dated May 24, 2016 has restrained the government from taking any punitive action against the members of Bihar Health Services Association.

"There are many hospitals in Patna, which do not have facilities and equipment that are mandatory under the Clinical Establishments Act," Pandey added. "But their registration (under the Act) can be done only if we are allowed to take action against them.

"We have filed an interlocutory petition to get the high court order vacated," he added. The health minister, in reply to another query raised by Bharti, said that 533 primary health centres (PHCs), 1,366 additional PHCs, 9,949 health sub-centres and 81 community health centres were functioning in the state.

"Altogether 3422 health sub-centres are functioning on rented premises and their buildings are constructed by the health department on the basis of availability of land and money. We are also constructing basic infrastructure for hospitals at a fast pace and ensuring that lifesaving and necessary medicines are always available," Pandey said.

The health minister also said that the state has sent a proposal to the Centre to upgrade 411 health sub-centres into "health and wellness centres" and to establish 232 new such health and wellness centres.The Telegraph