86 per cent of Odisha hospitals lack valid papers

The fire at Bhubaneswar’s SUM Hospital has brought to light a startling fact: 180 of the total 208 hospitals and nursing homes in the city are operating with expired registration papers.

According data supplied by the Directorate of Medical Education and Training (DMET), many hospitals are operating freely though their registration certificates have expired.

The list of defaulters includes big hospitals such as Kalinga Hospital and Kar Clinic and Hospital.

According to DMET data, the 250-bed Kalinga Hospital’s registration expired in March this year, and Kar Clinic’s registration expired in March 2015.

“As per the rules of the Clinical Establishment Act, a hospital cannot be closed suddenly. The district authorities have to decide after ensuring that the existing patients are discharged and shifted,” DMET joint director Umakant Satpathy said.

Health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak said a new law will be enacted to punish healthcare facilities running without registration.

“We have made provisions for right to seal hospitals, levy fines up to `50 lakh and six-month jail. These will be implemented soon,” Mr Nayak said.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Sum Hospital fire mishap mounted to 25 on Friday as three more people succumbed at Capital Hospital here, while another died at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. The deceased are Biswanath Behera of Dumduma, Rashmita Swain of Balipada, Puri, and Sheikh Qurban of Khurdha.

While Behera and Swain breathed their last while undergoing treatment at the Capital Hospital on Thursday night, Qurban succumbed at trauma ICU of SCB Hospital on Friday morning.

As many as 19 patients of over 100 patients undergoing treatment at the Sum Hospital died due to asphyxiation owing to a massive accident fire on October 17 evening. The fire originated from a medicine store spread to the dialysis ward and the ICU unit on the first floor.

Over 100 others sustained injuries and were shifted to various government and private hospitals.

Two more persons died later while undergoing treatment at Bhubaneswar AIIMS Hospital — one on October 18 and another on October 19 — taking the death toll to 21. In another development, the Odisha government on Friday dropped Sum Hospital from its list of empanelled referral hospitals and delinked it from Odisha State Treatment Fund (OSTF). Besides, four people, said to be supporters of hospital owner Manoj Nayak, attacked the journalists while he was being taken from Jharpada jail for interrogation. They were taken into custody.