Thane hospital runs unauthorised IVF centre; citywide inspections ordered

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A Thane hospital in Maharashtra was caught operating an unauthorised IVF centre, prompting officials to launch inspections of all similar facilities in the city.

The crackdown comes in the wake of an illegal human "egg-selling" racket recently busted in the Badlapur area of Maharashtra's Thane district, reported PTI.

The Thane Municipal Corporation's (TMC) health department initiated action on March 6 by raiding the unlicensed IVF centre at a prominent local hospital, the civic body said in a release. "The centre's approval has been cancelled and three sonography machines at the facility have been sealed," it added.

Taking serious note of the irregularities, Thane Mayor Sharmila Pimpalolkar convened a high-level meeting on Tuesday, attended by TMC's Chief Medical Health Officer Dr Prasad Patil and Shiv Sena group leader Pawan Kadam.

"The mayor has directed the administration to immediately inspect all IVF and sonography centres within Thane Municipal Corporation limits," the release said. She further ordered the launch of a "special campaign against illegal sonography centres" to ensure strict compliance with medical safety norms, reported PTI.

During the meeting, Dr Patil said, "Poor women were being coerced into producing excess eggs through hormonal injections in exchange for money. These were then extracted and sold for lakhs of rupees to childless couples."

To ensure accountability, the mayor has mandated a rigorous oversight mechanism. "The administration should monitor the investigation regularly and submit a report every week. The action taken by the health department must be continued without interruption," the release quoted the mayor as saying.

Fake doctors under scanner as state plans stricter penalties and oversight panel

The state government announced plans to form a committee to monitor bogus doctors and unauthorised nursing homes in Maharashtra. The panel will identify individuals practising medicine sans qualification and clinics operating without permission.

The government has also stated it plans to amend the existing law to increase penalties for such violations, including stricter fines and longer jail terms for fake doctors and illegally operating hospitals. The government has decided to form a committee to address this issue. It was noted quite rightly that bogus doctors and illegal clinics currently operate without fear of the law.

This is absolutely necessary. For fear of the law, this committee or any initiative to tackle this must demonstrate efficacy in nabbing the sham doctors/clinic operators. There must be absolute efficiency in this, thorough checks, follow-ups, and acting on complaints. Once nabbed, these must be put down on record, so that they are never allowed to set up any kind of practice again. Enablers/partners must also be nabbed as they are equally culpable.

One must remember that toying with health can be fatal. Punishments for the same must be commensurate with the crime. This is not simply a ‘fraud' case; you are playing with the lives of the people. The penalty must take into account the magnitude of this crime. We must also have a blacklist of these cons and bogus medical establishments, so that they cannot retry entering the medical field and start their bogus antics once again.

(With PTI inputs)