Clinic registration Delhi: who the 1953 Act covers Nursing home registration with DGHS, the two-bed line, fees by bed band and the three-year renewal.

A single-doctor OPD clinic in Delhi with no beds does not register under the Delhi Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1953. The Act covers premises that admit patients for treatment and nursing, and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) registers only establishments with indoor admission of at least two beds. Delhi is the one union territory where the central Clinical Establishments Act does not apply; see our state list.

Does a single-doctor OPD clinic in Delhi need registration?

No, not under this Act, as long as nobody is admitted. Section 2(iv) of the Act, in the copy on the Delhi Health Department's website, reads:

'Nursing Home' means any premises used or intended to be used for the reception of persons suffering from any sickness injury or infirmity and the providing of treatment and nursing for them and includes a maternity home, and the expression 'carry on nursing home' means to receive persons in a nursing home for, any of the aforesaid purposes and to provide treatment or nursing for them.

DGHS applies that definition with a bed threshold. Its FAQ says: "Only private hospitals / nursing homes functioning round –the-clock and having indoor admission facility (at least 02 beds) and practicing modern system of medicines are registered". The 2011 Rules say the same in the Schedule: "A nursing home shall have minimum of two beds for admission of the patients." A consulting room, even one run by a specialist with a procedure couch, falls outside if patients go home the same visit. Section 17 also excludes nursing homes run by the government or a local authority.

Who registers nursing homes in Delhi?

The Nursing Home Cell of DGHS, Government of NCT of Delhi. The FAQ gives its office as DGD Building, S-1, School Block, Shakarpur, Delhi-110092, and says the application goes in Form B "along with proof of fees payment and all requisite documents as per revised checklist available at Delhi Government health website". We did not find an online application portal on the DGHS pages we read, so collect the current checklist from the Cell.

What does registration cost, and how long does it last?

Three years, at a fee set by bed count. Rule 6(1), as amended in 2011, says renewal "shall be made every third year, in Form 'B' before 31st January of applicable year". Rule 7(1) sets the fee for three years:

Late renewal costs "ten percent of the renewal fee" for each month or part of a month (rule 7(2)). If you have not applied within six months of the deadline, rule 7(3) says the application is refused and the name removed from the register after a hearing. There is no provisional registration under this law. For other states, compare our fees by state.

How do you register a nursing home in Delhi?

1. Confirm you meet the Schedule to the Rules: at least two admission beds, floor space of at least 80 square feet for the first bed and 60 for each additional bed, a nurse for every ten beds, and a doctor round the clock for every 25 beds.
2. Get bio-medical waste authorisation from the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, which paragraph 17 of the Schedule requires.
3. Download the current checklist from the Delhi Government health website and fill Form B.
4. Pay the fee for your bed band and file the form with proof of payment at the Nursing Home Cell. An individual owner adds an affidavit and PAN card, per the DGHS FAQ.
5. After registration, keep the certificate "affixed in a conspicuous place in the nursing home" (section 5(3)) and diarise the renewal for 31 January of the third year.

What must a registered nursing home display and record?

• The registration certificate, in a conspicuous place (section 5(3) of the Act).
• Charges for all services, "prominently displayed" (paragraph 15 of the Schedule).
• A register of patients admitted in Form D and an alphabetical index of names (rule 12(1)(a) and (b)).
• A health record for every admitted patient with admission number, doctor in charge, diagnosis, consent and treatment records (rule 12(1)(c)).
• Maternity records in Form E, and records under the MTP Act and the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act in Forms F1 and F2 (rule 12(1)(d) and (e)).

What is the penalty for an unregistered nursing home?

In the Act's text on the Health Department site, section 6 provides a fine "which may extend to five hundred rupees" for a first offence and, for a second or later offence, "imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both". The authority can also refuse or cancel registration under sections 5 and 7.

What else does a Delhi clinic need?

Every doctor needs registration with a state medical council; see state medical councils. A bedless clinic still deals with local licences: read our posts on the shop and establishment licence and fire NOC and trade licence. Bio-medical waste rules apply to any clinic that generates sharps or soiled waste; see the small clinic guide.

Where Vitels fits: Vitels prints prescriptions on your own letterhead, A4 or A5, with your council registration number, which Vitels verifies at sign-up. Visit records sit in one place and the clinic admin can export them as CSV at any time. See clinic registration in India.