Doctors associated with Chhattisgarh Jan Swasthya Suraksha Manch held a one-day fast and demonstration on Friday against a few sections of the Nursing Home Act in Boodhapara locality of the city.
Demanding a separate set of rules for big and small hospitals, members of the forum insisted that amendments in the Nursing Home Act should be made by the Government. They also threatened a stir if the Government did not consider their demand. A memorandum addressed to Chief Minister Raman Singh and Health Minister Amar Agrawal was submitted to the AGM.
Convener of the forum Dr J P Sharma said same rules were applicable on doctors practicing allopathy, homeopathy or Ayurveda which is causing problems. “Even a homeopathic doctor, who does not use syringes, has to obtain a medical waste management licence which burdens him for no reason,” he said.
According to the forum, around 3,000 Allopathic doctors and 3,000 Ayush doctors (Ayurvedic, Homeopathic, Unani) are serving in the State at current. In the interior and Naxal-infested areas where Government doctors hesitate to work, Ayush doctors attend to thousands of patients. “If Nursing Home Act filters out such doctors based on its strict rules, there will be no medical help available for a sizable population of the state,” Sharma said.
The forum demanded that alternative medical practitioners should be exempted from rules like mandatory NOC from Environment Conservation Board, staff trained in waste management etc. “If one formula is applied to every hospital, not even five per cent of the current strength of doctors will make the cut,” said Dr Satyajeet Sahu, vice president of the forum.