Punjab: Private de-addiction centre sealed, License suspended
Rupnagar: Acting on repeated complaints from residents and claiming that the same medical treatment could be availed at government hospitals, the Rupnagar district administration under the directives of the Director of Health and Family Welfare Department and Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain, sealed Sirat Hospital and De-addiction Centre in Rupnagar, suspending its license with immediate effect.
While the private hospital has been recently shut down, the Vigilance Department had already registered a case against its owner on December 31 under Section 7 and Section 7A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (Amendment Act, 2018). As a result, the owner who is also a doctor has been booked in connection.
In addition to this facility, the owner is believed to run 22 other private hospitals, all of which are set to be sealed one by one.
The operation was led by Sachin Pathak, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Rupnagar, under instructions from the Director of Health Punjab and Deputy Commissioner Rupnagar. During the process, the administration secured all stock registers and sealed medicines stored in the hospital’s cupboards. The keys have been handed over to the health department.
The action was taken after the state health department received multiple complaints from residents living near the hospital about disturbances caused by the drug addicts while visiting the centre to get medicines or treatment. The administration claimed that this move would provide major relief to them and the residents had already provided their full support in the closure of the hospital.
SDM Rupnagar Sachin Pathak told Royal Patiala, "During today’s action, no patient was found admitted to the hospital. We have received full support from the residents near the hospital and these people were also making complaints to the district administration from time to time, the closure of this hospital will also give relief to these people."
In a press release as reported by The Tribune, the administration said, “The licence of the hospital has been suspended immediately. The patients who were getting treatment from the hospital can go to a government hospital."
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