‘Small nursing homes will vanish under Act’

The Medicos Legal ActionGroup has express discontent about the inter-ministerial committee decision onnot exempting small-sized nursing homes across the country from the ClinicalEstablishment Act (CEA). Thousands of small and medium healthcareestablishments (SMHCE) across India will vanish due to the Act in the comingyears due to the stringent rules, experts have claimed.

“All small-sized nursing homes dotting the country will get closed down in coming years under CEA. Small and medium healthcare establishments, irrespective of whether they are manned by a single doctor or multiple doctors and irrespective of being in rural or urban areas, nursing homes with up to 20 beds should be given relaxation in minimum standards as is given to small and medium scale industries under a separate Act,” said Dr Neeraj Nagpal, convenor, Medicos Legal Action Group, managing director MLAG Indemnity.

SMHCE mainly represents nursing homes with less than 20 beds. In a recent meeting held on December 8, the committee exempted only ‘single doctor establishments’ (SDE).