Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj
The Delhi government has directed the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to provide details of seven officials in connection with a vigilance probe into alleged irregular and illegal licensing of private nursing homes. In a letter sent to the Directorate General of Health Services, Delhi, the health department said the vigilance directorate has sought detailed resumes of seven officials in the case, along with specific recommendations describing the role and responsibilities of each accused official.
After the death of six newborns in a neonatal hospital fire in May, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a comprehensive Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) probe into the registration and regulatory management of private nursing homes in the national capital.
Many illegal nursing homes are running in Delhi
While directing the inquiry, Saxena said there are 1,190 nursing homes, more than a quarter of which are running without valid registration. In May, Saxena suspended Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj’s OSD RN Das for his alleged involvement in irregular and illegal registrations, including in the Vivek Vihar case, where six newborns died in a fire.
ACB is investigating the case
The role of officials of the Health Department and Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) in the matter of registration and renewal of nursing homes in the capital has been questioned. An investigation by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) revealed that the Health Department and DGHS officials had failed to conduct regular inspections of nursing homes and hospitals. The application for license renewal was kept pending for six to one years.
ACB handed over the report to the Vigilance Directorate a few days ago. In which it was said that many nursing homes have not even been inspected since the year 2020-21. At the same time, out of 65 nursing homes inspected by the ACB, as many as 13 health departments were running without licenses or with expired licenses. There were also 4 nursing homes that never applied for a license. Along with this, the investigation has also revealed that many nursing homes do not even have qualified doctors. The report said that the health department officials were in cahoots with the managers and doctors of these nursing homes.
