State minister for Health Tanaji Sawant will hear on Wednesday an appeal filed by Dr Alok Sharma of Neurogen Brain & Spine Institute, Seawoods, Navi Mumbai. On March 5, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) had revoked the permission granted under the Nursing Homes Act to the hospital.
Commissioner of NMMC Rahul Narvekar had then said that the institute was using stem cell therapy for treating autism, which is not medically recognised. He said the institution is making millions of rupees by charging high fees from anxious parents, including those from abroad.
Dr Sharma had appealed to the health minister against the closure and in a highly controversial move the latter had stayed the closure. His decision shocked not only NMMC officials, but also the medical fraternity. Soon after the stay, the institute resumed its controversial operations.
Dr Sharma told the FPJ that the stay was granted because Dr Pramod Patil, health officer of the NMMC, had not given the mandatory one-month notice before ordering the closure. However, this has been disputed by NMMC, whose official said the notice was issued on December 29, 2022 and fulfilled the one-month notice.
The entire medical fraternity is eagerly awaiting the outcome of the hearing on Wednesday. If the closure is not upheld, then it would mean that a therapy which has not been approved by the government will continue to be practised. Dr Sharma said he is not using a new product but only using stem cells as they occur in the body.
