23 unregistered hospitals, nursing homes operating in Mumbai’s M East ward

Twenty-three unregistered hospitals and nursing homes without fire compliance licenses are doing brisk business in M East ward (Govandi and Mankhurd), an RTI reply procured by an activist on April 1 has revealed. Some of these medical facilities even function as neonatal intensive care units and children’s hospitals. Needless to say, their illegal status poses a significant risk to the life and health of patients.

The unregistered hospitals and nursing homes thrive mainly within slum areas. Getting registered is a struggle for them due to the restrictions imposed by the BMC’s building proposals department, particularly for establishments built after 2012 in slum areas. A civic official told HT that some often operated under one name for 11 months and then emerged under a new name after their tenancy came to an end. At other times, the tenancy changes hands and a new unregistered hospital comes up in the same place.

Dr Mohammed Khalid Ansari, who has been running the eight-bed Diamond Nursing Home at Govandi’s Baiganwadi slum for the last five years, said the BMC had “stopped registrations”. “The civic body wants too many documents, which we are unable to procure,” he said. “That’s why there are so many unregistered hospitals and nursing homes in this area.”

When asked about the risks to patients from these places, Dr Ansari said that Diamond Nursing Home usually performed deliveries and treated infections such as malaria or dengue. “We don’t admit critically ill patients,” he said. “The nursing home is hygienic, and we offer simple treatment and take all safety precautions without indulging in illegal activities.”

Speaking about other hospitals in the area, Dr Ansari said there was a case registered against Asha Nursing Home. Asha Nursing Home’s Rehana Shaikh remained unavailable for comment. Dr Ali Khan from Apex Hospital, another unregistered medical facility in Mankhurd, also did not respond to calls.

Faiyyaz Alam Shaikh, a Govandi resident who filed the RTI, said that the patients who went to these hospitals were uneducated and unaware that the nursing homes and hospitals, the majority of which are five-bed facilities, were unregistered.

“The building proposals department does not issue an NOC or a fire NOC in slums for these facilities,” said Shaikh. “They are ground-plus-two or ground-plus-three structures which function without a lift and do not have the mandatory two entrances for entry and exit. Neither do they have generators for an emergency when there is no electricity. But no action has been initiated against them.”

Shaikh revealed that a child died five days ago in an unregistered nursing home, and the parents alleged that it was due to the doctor’s negligence.

“People in M East ward have the option of going to civic hospitals like Shatabdi, Sion or Rajawadi,” he said. “But they prefer these private hospitals, despite the fact that they are expensive, charging as much as ₹25,000 for a normal delivery. When the BMC was asked why they were not shut down, its officers had no answer though they provided the list of illegal medical facilities.”

Dr Daksha Shah, the BMC’s executive health officer, when asked what action would be taken against the illegal facilities, said that the Nursing Home Registration Act had only guidelines and the BMC was not legally empowered to seize or seal them. “Usually, we confirm the registration with the concerned health department and then inform the local police, who register an FIR,” she said. “The rest of the action is initiated by them.”

Illegal medical facility list

• Muskan NICU & Children’s Hospital
• Millennium Hospital
• Asha Nursing Home
• Mannat Hospital
• Apex Hospital
• Sagar Nursing Home
• Vishwakarma Hospital
• Diamond Nursing Home
• Khan Nursing Home
• Mission Hospital
• Bhadra Hospital
• New Lifeline Hospital
• Cheetah Camp Nursing Home
• Tawakkal Hospital
• Jupiter Diagnostic Hospital
• Zee Trust Hospital
• RN Hospital
• Rajpal Hospital
• Shifa Nursing Home
• MEDSTAR hospital
• Shrikrupa Multi-Speciality Hospital
• New Family Nursing Home
• KJ Hospital

Hindustan Times