YouTuber Irfan controversy: DMS withdraws Clinical Establishment Act registration of hospital for 10 days

YouTuber Irfan controversy: Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services withdraws Clinical Establishment Act registration of Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Sholinganallur, for all patient care activities for 10 days except for pregnant women

Days after YouTuber and food vlogger Irfan posted a video wherein he was seen cutting the umbilical cord of his newborn inside an operation theatre, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) has withdrawn the Clinical Establishment Act registration of the Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Sholinganallur, for all patient care activities for 10 days except for pregnant women who are on continuous treatment at the hospital, with effect from October 24, 2024.

J. Rajamoorthy, Director of Medical and Rural Health Services, said the registration was being withdrawn under Section 5 (2) of the Tamil Nadu Private Clinical Establishments (Regulation) Act, and a penalty of ₹50,000 was imposed under Section 8 (2) of the Act. The action was taken in view of the “unacceptable surgical procedure conducted by a non-medical person in a registered clinical establishment”, the directorate said.

The hospital, however, can treat antenatal women who are on continuous treatment at the facility, it added.

Irfan had uploaded the video, which went viral, on his YouTube channel. He faced backlash from various quarters for shooting a video of childbirth inside an operation theatre, and for cutting the umbilical cord.