Hyderabad private hospitals in fear of closure after government issues new guidelines

Hyderabad: Hundreds of private hospitals are on the verge of closure after the Telangana government issued tougher guidelines to regulate their operations in the state.

The hospitals have sent an SOS to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) Mayor Dr Bonthu Rammohan urging him to help to save them from going bust.

“Because of the revised policies of the state government, most of the hospitals are unable to sustain. Some of them are on the verge of closure. This would lead to an increase in common man's hospitalization cost,” Dr J Alwal Reddy, President of Telangana Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (THANA) told NewsMeter.

Under the revised guidelines, the government has asked private hospitals to implement fire rules, work on building deviation, renew trade license and install sewage plant and others.

“The implementation of a national building code is one. It is not possible for small hospitals that run on rented and old buildings. Changing the structure of hospitals overnight to suit the new norms of fire safety is almost impossible. We have installed fire extinguishers, booster pumps and every other equipment necessary for fire safety. We too are concerned about the safety of our patients. We are only asking for relaxation,” said Dr Reddy.

According to THANA, the medical profession and hospitals are not classified under a trade license. “The harassment is getting worse. Almost 15000 hospitals in the city may close down. It is not possible for decades-old hospitals to get a trade and occupation licence. Every 10 days, the vigilance department is sending us notices,” Dr Alwal added.

Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is another issue the hospitals are facing. THANA said installing STPs are not feasible in small hospitals. The big area required to install STPs would create a foul smell in small hospitals and cause a problem to hospital staff, patients as well as neighbours.

“We are disposing of bio-medical waste regularly. Asking for STPs in small hospitals is putting a lot of burden on us. We want the government to exempt at least 100-bed hospitals from installing STPs,” Dr M V Prasad, General Secretary of THANA told NewsMeter,