Over 100 private clinics functioning sans license in Jharkhand: RTI

The licenses under the Clinical Establishment Act are ought to be renewed by the owners of private medical establishments each year.

However, The RTI, filed by city resident Jyoti Sharma, has revealed that over 40 medical establishments, which are primarily clinics and labs, which are operating without the mandatory license for more than four months.

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There are 601 private medical establishments in and around the state capital and across Ranchi district, which include superspecialty hospitals, nursing homes, children hospitals, clinics, research centres, radiological and pathological laboratories and more, says the RTI.

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Ranchi civil surgeon Dr Vinod Kumar told TOI on Tuesday, "Issuance of licenses under the Clinical Establishment Act is a continuous process. Of the 150 hospitals, several have already applied and their application is under process,"

"The regulations mandate that the private medical establishments would need to submit an online application each year which is then granted after a physical verification of the premises by a doctor from the state health department. The regulations have been put in place to ensure that one particular private medical facility has all the necessary infrastructure and equipment," Kumar added.

Earlier this week, it came to light that a bogus doctor had been running two hospitals in Hazaribagh. Another RTI petition had revealed that the hospital was functioning without the license since July 2020.