PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, May 20: Fearing the closure of around 15000 small and mid-sized hospitals in the state, the Indian Medical Association on Friday urged the Jharkhand government through a letter to Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Health Minister Banna Gupta to amend the Clinical Establishment Act in the interest of patients as well as health centres of the state.
IMA state chapter secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh said that the Clinical Establishment Act was passed in 2018 and all state governments were allowed to amend it as per their condition and requirement.
Quoting the Health Secretary of the state, he said, “Health secretary of the state has himself said that he tends to visit the nearby clinics in case of any kind of health-related issues as they would be in a better position to know about their health because they become like family doctors.”
Dr Singh added that this act will leave only two kinds of hospitals in the state which will be corporate and government hospitals. In such a case, the cost of treatment will go very his in the state and people will have to suffer.
“IMA has been demanding from Jharkhand government to exempt 50 beds hospital from the Clinic Establishment Act as per Haryana/Punjab/Uttar Pradesh model and give five years relaxation to the operator of the hospitals having above 50 beds facility,” said Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh.
Dr Singh has pointed out that if the amendment is not made in the Act, patients, as well as health centres in the state, would suffer. “Generally whenever an accident occurs, the victim is immediately admitted to a nearby private or government health centre for first aid and is referred to a big hospital. But under the Clinical Establishment Act, referring the patient would be considered a criminal matter and the clinic would have to bear the treatment cost of the patient till he/she recovers completely,” he said.
The IMA secretary said if such clause of the Act is not amended patients would suffer in the state as the private clinic would not admit them.
Dr Singh said the government should take the advice of expert doctors of medical colleges over the issue and amend the Clinical Establishment Act so that the medical fraternity remains attached to people for providing health services.
Under the new rules, all hospitals with more than 30 beds will have to provide all the resources and facilities to their patients. Along with this, standards developed by the National Council for Clinical Establishments related to biomedical waste, safety and pollution will also have to be met.
Till now, relaxations in the rules were given to hospitals due to the Covid pandemic. With the Act in place, officials said, all hospitals will have to ensure the deployment of doctors and paramedical staff as per standards set by the National Council, besides providing basic resources.