7 Babies Die In Fire, Anti-Corruption Branch Begins Probe Of All Delhi Hospitals

The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi has launched a probe into the registration and regulatory management of all private hospitals and nursing homes in the city in the wake of a deadly fire at a neonatal hospital in Vivek Vihar that killed seven newborns, officials said on Friday.

ACB teams have inspected 40 private medical facilities in east Delhi in the last 48 hours and found anomalies in some of those, they said.

According to the officials, the ACB has formed four teams led by inspector-level officers for the purpose and it might take a couple of weeks to cover all private medical facilities in the national capital.

The officials said at least 15 hospitals and nursing homes, which were inspected, are located in Vivek Vihar and its nearby areas.

Six newborns died in the fire at the Baby Care New Born Hospital in Vivek Vihar on May 25. Among the five injured children rescued from the hospital, one died during treatment on Friday.

While ordering a comprehensive anti-corruption probe into the incident on Tuesday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said the incident has brought out the "sheer mismanagement, criminal neglect and connivance of officials of the health department" in granting and renewing registrations of nursing homes.

Dr Naveen Khichi, the owner of the Vivek Vihar hospital, was arrested by the Delhi Police as the facility was found violating fire-safety norms. The hospital was allegedly treating patients beyond its capacity and its licence had expired on March 31, the officials said.

According to the ACB officials, the probe teams are checking the documents and registration certificates required for running hospitals and nursing homes. They are also probing the alleged involvement of government officials in allowing such facilities to operate in their areas, without proper registration certificates, licences and safety norms.

The officials said they have written to the Directorate General of Health Service (DGHS), which issues licences to private hospitals, to gather information about their process of field inspections while issuing clearances to such facilities.

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