Malda nursing homes are facing a district-wide regulatory crackdown after the administration sealed eight private facilities in the past week for allegedly violating mandatory healthcare norms. Officials also shut down a diagnostic centre and fined three nursing homes following joint inspections by the district administration and the health department.
The sealed facilities are located in the Malda Sadar and Chanchal subdivisions, according to administrative sources cited in the report. The alleged violations include the absence of residential medical officers, deployment of untrained nursing staff, poor sanitation, engagement of unqualified laboratory technicians and failure to maintain proper records of patient admissions, billing and discharge.
The inspections also found that some private healthcare establishments lacked the infrastructure required to operate. Administrative sources said preliminary investigations had begun against some other nursing homes following complaints. If the allegations are substantiated, those establishments could also face closure, the source said.
Aniruddha Nandi, additional district magistrate in charge of health, said the administration would not accept any compromise in the quality of services promised to patients and their families. “No deviation from the assured health services promised to patients and their family members will be tolerated. The drive will continue. Every nursing home must comply with the state government’s prescribed rules, failing which strict action will be taken,” Nandi said.
The action comes amid a large private healthcare network in the district. Malda has more than 150 nursing homes and over 200 diagnostic centres, according to officials. The scale of the network means that inspections are not limited to individual facilities but also involve the district’s capacity to monitor staffing, sanitation, laboratory qualifications, infrastructure and patient documentation across a substantial number of establishments.
The alleged lapses identified by officials cover both clinical and administrative requirements. The absence of residential medical officers and the use of untrained nursing staff concern the availability and qualification of personnel, while sanitation and laboratory staffing relate to the conditions in which patients are treated and tested. Incomplete admission, billing and discharge records affect the documentation of care and the administration’s ability to review healthcare activity.
Officials said some establishments had obtained licences through irregular means in previous years and that many were operating without adequate infrastructure. The administration and the health department are continuing the inspection drive, with further action linked to the outcome of preliminary investigations and the findings recorded during inspections.
