The Indian Medical Association (IMA), Jharkhand chapter on Sunday expressed its concern over implementation of centrally-framed Clinical Establishment Act in the State without any amendments and without considering the local limitations.
Medical practitioners associated with IMA, expressing their resentment at a press conference held at IMA Bhawan, said that the implementation of Clinical Establishment Act will lead to the collapse of medical infrastructure in the State and make medical treatment expensive.
IMS Secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh said, “Implementation of centrally drafted Clinical Establishment Act in the state without making any changes and without considering the local problems and limitations will ultimately deprive common people from medical treatment.” The Clinical Establishment Act will destroy the culture of single doctor clinics, couple doctor clinics and small nursing homes, the very backbone of medical treatment in the State.
As per IMA secretary, there are several stringent provisions as per the Act which will be a herculean task for doctors running clinics to follow. The IMA claimed that the state government is going to introduce the Clinical Establishment Act on the pressure of big corporate hospitals.
Singh said, “The criteria fixed as the Act is tough for a doctor or doctor couple running nursing homes, clinics and they will be compelled to shut down their clinics. In such a situation patients will have no opportunity but to take refuge at corporate hospitals where treatment is costly. Patients will have to pay Rs 5 lakh for the treatment of the disease which can be treated in just Rs 5000 now in the existing system.”
The IMA demanded the implementation of the Haryana model of Clinical Establishment Act which is in the larger interest of poor patients.
The IMA meeting which was attended by President Arun Kumar Singh, treasure BP Kashyap along with doctors including noted ophthalmologist Dr Bharti Kashyap demanded that the State Government should take the example of Haryana where the hospitals having less than 50 beds are exempted from the provisions of the clinical establishment act.
Noted ophthalmologist Dr Bharti Kashyap, who is also chairperson of Women Doctors’ Wing of IMA, echoed Dr Kumar saying implementation of Clinical Establishment Act in the same way as it was drafted under the influence of corporate houses will compel doctors to join hospitals of corporate houses and it will finally affect the common people.
The doctors also demanded a Central law against violence against doctors. The doctors present at the meeting demanded the enactment of Health Services Personnel and Clinical Establishment (Prohibition of Violence and Damage to Property) Bill, 2019, which sought to impose a jail term up to ten years along with other provisions of CrPC and IPC for assaulting on-duty doctors and other healthcare professionals.
The doctors said that 23 states in Country including neighboring Bihar, West Bengal and others have introduced medical protection act and there is reason behind state government delaying the implementation of medical protection act.