The Bengal Government on Friday declared the formation of an 11-member State Health Regulatory Commission — a first of its kind in the country — headed by a retired High Court Judge which will supervise the acts and omissions of private healthcare service providers.
The Commission comes into place a day after Governor KN Tripathi signed the new West Bengal Clinical Establishment (Registration, Regulation and Transparency) Act.
The Commission would not only arbitrate complaints of medical negligence but also monitor billings and performance of the private hospitals and nursing homes, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
The Commission comprises judicial experts, IPS officers, doctors and eminent citizens. Both the law and the Commission was brought into force in the wake of repeated complaints of medical negligence and excess billing against private hospitals.