CHENNAI: Out of a rough estimate of over 70,000 clinical establishments in the State, only 18,500 have applied with the Directorate of Medical Services for registration under the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Act, 2018, according to officials.
The government had set March 31, 2019, as the deadline to register these institutions and the hospitals should renew their license every five years.
Meanwhile, a health department official told Express, “So far, 18,500 applications have been received from all over Tamil Nadu. There are over 70,000 clinical establishments in the State. So, around 50,000 are yet to apply for license.”
However, the official said, “There is an extension till May 31, so the clinical establishments can still register. But action can be initiated only after June 1.” The government, last year, had introduced the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Act, 2018, which came into effect from June 1. All clinical establishments including Indian medicine and homeopathy clinics, hospitals and laboratories, both private and government, are mandated to be registered under the Act for functioning of the hospitals.
The officials said, registration certificates will be issued after inspection of the hospitals by a team of Directorate of Medical Services. The hospitals should have obtained clearance certificate from Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and Fire Service department. They have to submit the filled-in application along with these clearance certificates.
The hospitals will be given a computer generated unique number and will be issued the registration certificates after the inspection by the officials.
The health department had said that one of the main aims of introducing the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Act is to eradicate quackery from the State. The act will streamline the functioning of the hospitals and also will control quackery.