The residents claimed the clinic did not have a licence to operate. They also alleged that the hospital carried out C-section operations, although proper infrastructure for carrying such operations was lacking at the clinic
The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) health department has detected a maternity nursing home, Surya Clinic, functioning illegally in a residential society, Mandardevi Apartments, in Katraj area of the city.
It was the assistant medical officer of health of PMC, Dr Vaishali Jadhav, who conducted a raid on September 2 and found out that the clinic was still operational despite the ward officer (health) of Dhankavdi, Dr Ketaki Ghatge’s report to the department a few months back that the clinic had been
shut down.
Residents of Mandardevi Apartments had been repeatedly complaining to the PMC health department regarding the clinic. The constant flow of patients and their relatives to the clinic was creating problems for them.
Moreover, they claimed, the clinic did not have a licence to operate. The residents also alleged that the hospital carried out C-section operations, although proper infrastructure for carrying such operations was lacking at the clinic.
Run by a doctor couple, Dr Sucheta and Dr Sachin Bhalerao, this clinic has been in operation since 2009. According to a written statement by the doctors, two flats were converted into a clinic for “treating the poor and needy”.
A file inspection under the Right to Information Act, 2005, by DNA revealed that since the beginning of this year, the residents have lodged repeated complaints with the PMC health department. In response, Ghatge had conducted an inspection of the clinic in March and directed it to be shut down.
Later, in a letter to the health department in June, she claimed that the clinic was not functioning. Although on paper the hospital was supposed to be closed, the residents claimed otherwise during the ‘Lokshai’ (open day) conducted by the PMC in August.
Acting on those complaints, a team led by Jadhav conducted a surprise inspection on September 2 and found a 28-year-old woman admitted to the clinic. Apparently, the woman had delivered a baby boy just a few days back in the clinic.
The team also found out that the clinic consisted of an operation theatre, two consulting rooms and an outpatient department. The doctor duo reportedly confessed to Jadhav that the nursing home was functioning without a licence. Dr RR Pardeshi, PMC medical officer, was not available for comment.
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