lack of will on the part of the Government has made mockery of the Clinical Establishment Act which was brought into force in the State in 2016. The act was implemented amid huge fanfare during the regime of Congress led by Harish Rawat but due to lack of Government’s willingness to enforce it, the act is in limbo for almost two years now. The local chapter of Indian Medical Association (IMA) is vehemently against many provision of the act and wants the Government to amend it.
“On its part the Government does not want to present an image which projects it as going down on its kneels before a powerful lobby of medical practitioners by amending the Act as per their wish so it is sitting over it quietly and not enforcing the act in the State. This also suits the IMA perfectly as it puts the act into limbo’’ opined an expert.
When contacted by The Pioneer, the secretary medical health and family welfare, Nitesh Jha refused to comment anything on Act. When prodded, further, he merely said that the State Cabinet has to take a decision on it.
The General Secretary of IMA, D D Chaudhury accepted that nothing is happening on the act as of now.
The IMA at present is more focused in fighting the notices slapped by the administration on private nursing homes running in residential properties and their ceiling in the ongoing High Court driven demolition drive.
Recently the State chapter IMA had recommended Haryana model of clinical establishment act in Uttarakhand. In Haryana the hospitals having less than 50 beds are exempted from the provisions of the clinical establishment act.
The act was brought by Government to rein the private nursing homes in 2016.
Under the provisions of the Act, it is compulsory for all the clinical establishments like doctor’s clinic, private hospitals, diagnostic centres, homeopathic doctors and Ayush doctors to get them registered with the State council.
The act seeks to regulate all clinical establishments with a view to prescribing the minimum standards of facilities and services provided by them. Under the Act, the clinical establishments should keep a record of the all the patients and disclose and display the type of services they give. These establishments would be bound to disclose the number and qualification of the staff they are employing and display the rate lists clearly.