A Medical Protection Bill, aimed at providing safety to doctors in the State, is likely to be tabled in the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Assembly, officials from Health Minister Banna Gupta’s office said on Saturday, claiming that the Minister has given his nod to the bill, which was drafted using provisions from the Medical Protection Acts of different States in India.
The State Health Ministry, officials said, has not only focused on ensuring safety for doctors but also tried to provide consumer rights and right to affordable treatment to the patients in the bill, making it beneficial for patients as well as caregivers in the State.
“Our doctors have worked relentlessly to save lives throughout the pandemic and even before that. Implementation of a Medical Protection Act has been a long-pending demand of doctors in our State and we have finalized a Medical Protection Bill that would benefit patients as well as doctors once it is implemented,” said Gupta.
During a felicitation programme for ophthalmologists in Ranchi last week, Gupta had said that he has had several rounds of discussion with Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Arun Kumar Singh over the implementation of a Medical Protection Act (MPA) and the State would soon get a law for providing safety to healthcare professionals.
The MPA has already been implemented in 18 states in India, said members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), claiming that Jharkhand would become the 19th state to pass a legislation for protection of doctors. The Cabinet had approved the MPA in Jharkhand in 2017. Later, a select committee too gave a report on it. But it was never passed by the State Assembly, sources said. The Act mandates imprisonment of up to three years and a fine ofRs.50,000 for attacks on doctors, nurses and hospital establishments.
The IMA has on several occasions raised concern over incidents of violence against healthcare workers even during the first and second wave of Covid-19. Several incidents of assaults on doctors and medical students were reported in Government-run hospitals across Jharkhand over the past decade, triggering protests by healthcare workers.
In June 2019, doctors were thrashed by attendants of a patient at Rinchi Hospital in Ranchi, triggering widespread protests by healthcare professionals. In February 2018, a doctor was heckled by attendants of a patient at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) prompting medicos at the hospital to go on an indefinite strike. A couple of months later, in June, a nurse was thrashed by attendants of a patient who died in the hospital. This incident too caused uproar by RIMS staff. Similar incidents were also reported in Dhanbad and Jamshedpur, doctors said.
The Monsoon Session of the Assembly is scheduled from September 3 to September 9.