Bengaluru: Four clinics shuttered for not reporting ILI/SARI-COVID cases

A failure to report all ILI/SARI and COVID-19 patients under their care have landed three clinics and a hospital in the city in hot water.

The four centres were shut down on Saturday by the Bengaluru Urban deputy commissioner for failing to comply with the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1987, the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and the KPME Act.

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Under the state government’s orders, all medical institutions registered with the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME), which include not just hospitals but also smaller clinics and labs, are required to report all patients who show symptoms of Influenza-Like Illness (ILI), Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI), plus Covid-19 cases.

Dr K Srinivas, District Health Officer (DHO), Bengaluru Urban, specified that an online reporting mechanism had been set up at all KPME-registered establishments. “They have to log in and specify how many cases of ILI, SARI or Covid-19 they have had daily. It is a straightforward system. However, many have not logged in to report cases,” he said.

The DHO explained that a notice had been issued to 17 private medical establishments on June 5, demanding a reply within a day to explain why the daily reports were not being filed.

“Thirteen of them have replied with an acceptable reason, and have admitted to their failure. The remaining four medical establishments did not reply to the notice, and their KPME licences have been suspended,” Dr Srinivas said.

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The four establishments are: Namma Clinic at Sahakaranagar, Panchamukhi Speciality Clinic at Peenya 2nd Stage, Mathru Chaya Clinic at Bommanahalli and Nayak Hospital in Gayathri Nagar.

Large-scale flouting

Health officers reported that these four clinics are not the only one flouting the act. According to the data from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, only 38% of the 28,043 KPME-registered institutions in the state have been filing the daily reports.

In Bengaluru, where the largest number of such institutions exist (7,313), the reporting rate was only 21%. In Mysuru, which has the second-largest number of institutions (2,064), the reporting percentage was only 26%. Koppal’s 641 institutions have the least reporting with 15%, while Kodagu’s 175 centres have the highest reporting, at 93%.

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Those centres which have reported so far have revealed to the state a total of 3,868 ILI cases, 147 SARI cases and 48 suspected COVID-19 cases, as of June 3. Dr Srinivas said other errant establishments would also face action.