Gujarat mandates registration of hospitals, diagnostic labs under Clinical Establishment Act
Gujarat 16,698 Health Institutions Registered Under the Gujarat Clinical Establishment Act
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat State Health Department announced on Tuesday that as of February 11, 2025, a total of 16,698 health institutions have been registered under the Gujarat Clinical Establishment Act. This includes both permanent and temporary registrations, with the final registration deadline set for March 12.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Gujarat Government has now decided to make it mandatory for all the medical establishments across the State to register, irrespective of their size. Medical establishments will be required to fulfil this condition under the Gujarat Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2021, which will be amended by the Gujarat Government.
The Gujarat Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act which was officially published in the state’s Gazette on May 22, 2021, came into force on September 13, 2022. The detailed regulations for the registration process were published on March 13, 2024, and have been in effect since then.
The registration initiative has seen wide participation from healthcare institutions, with 14,647 institutions opting for online registration and 2,051 registered offline. The health department’s initiative aims to ensure that all medical and diagnostic establishments in Gujarat meet regulatory standards to provide quality healthcare services.
According to news reports, out of the total registered institutes, 12,028 are allopathy hospitals, 1,622 are ayurvedic, 3,009 are homeopathic, and 39 belong to the Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy, and Siddha systems. Of the 12,028 allopathic registrations, 7,150 are hospitals, which can be further categorized into 5,268 private and 1,882 public sector hospitals. Additionally, there are 3,986 registered clinics, 40 blood banks, 566 clinical laboratories, and 286 X-ray/imaging centres.
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As per the recent media report by TNIE, a government statement said, “Strict implementation of this Act will result in effective regulation of the health services system and the quality of health services will improve through stakeholder participation and treatment methods. Under the Act, registration is mandatory and is allowed only for approved medical practices. This will bring about better management.”
The act requires the registration of all government health institutions, as well as private and trust-run establishments. This registration is also mandatory for all types of therapeutic and diagnostic services provided by clinical institutions. It applies to institutions offering services in allopathic, ayurvedic, homeopathic, and Unani systems of medicine. Additionally, rooms, polyclinics, hospitals, standalone labs, and other diagnostic units must obtain registration by paying the prescribed fee.
The Act also mandates fines ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5 lakh for those found operating without registration.
The Act’s provisions apply to various types of medical institutions, including, maternity homes, nursing homes, dispensaries, clinics, and sanatoriums, which provide medical services necessary for the diagnosis, treatment, or care of illness, injury, physical disability, or pregnancy through any recognized medical system.
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According to TNIE, the provisions of this Act also apply to medical institutions where pathological, bacteriological, genetic, radiological, chemical, biological examination or other diagnostic services are provided with the help of a laboratory or other medical equipment for the diagnosis or treatment of diseases and which are registered under the central, provincial or state Act, government or non-government corporations (including societies), local authorities and medical institutions owned or controlled or managed by a doctor.
