45 Agra hospitals face license suspension over inspection lapses
Agra Hospitals Face License Suspension After Failing Safety Inspections
Agra: Following a rigorous inspection of private hospitals in Agra, the State Health Department has suspended license renewals for 45 hospitals due to serious lapses in essential medical standards. The deficiencies included inadequate deployment of specialist doctors in ICUs, a shortage of trained paramedical staff, poor medical waste management, and non-functional fire safety systems.
Notices have been issued to hospital operators, directing them to rectify these shortcomings within a week. Agra currently has 1,317 registered medical institutions, including 537 hospitals, 513 clinics, 149 pathology labs, and 108 diagnostic centres. License renewals are now being granted only after physical verification of institutions against 17 prescribed medical standards.
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The Health Department’s team uncovered several critical deficiencies during inspections. Many hospitals lacked specialist doctors in ICUs for 24 hours, while trained paramedical staff were insufficient. Life-saving equipment was incomplete, and fire safety systems were either non-functional or absent, with some hospitals lacking even a fire NOC.
Medical waste management was also found to be inadequate, with biomedical waste not being disposed of according to regulations. CCTV cameras were missing in the doctors’ chambers and the entrance areas. Many hospitals also failed to display critical information such as doctors’ names, fee details, affidavits of serving physicians, and records of admitted and discharged patients.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Arun Srivastava stressed that ignoring medical standards directly endangers lives. Speaking to Bhaskar English, he said, CMO Dr. Arun Srivastava said that medical standards were found incomplete in 45 hospitals. Affidavits of doctors providing services in these hospitals were also not found. Notices have been issued to fulfill necessary standards, including ICU, medical waste management, and other requirements. Verification will be done again after the fixed time. If facilities are not found complete, licenses of the concerned hospitals will be suspended.
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Dr. Pankaj Nagaich, President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said the organization has directed all its members to comply strictly with medical standards. A meeting was also held between IMA representatives and health department officials to address the issue. Most hospitals failing to meet the standards are reportedly run by non-medical operators, information that has been shared with the CMO.
