SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 9: The state chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) today shot off a letter to chief minister Hemant Soren urging him for immediate implementation of the Clinical Establishment Act (CEA) in the state after proper amendment.
IMA state president Dr AK Singh and secretary Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh in a joint letter to the Chief Minister have said that the IMA and the Jharkhand Health Service Association (JHSA), the frontal organization of government doctors, have put up long pending demands before the state government. Even a detailed discussion was held with the Health Minister and Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of Health over amendment in ECA. Notwithstanding it, the amendment has not been done in it so far.
“ It looks strange that the Health Minister Banna Gupta and ACS Health Arun Kumar Singh agreed to keep single clinics and nursing homes below 50 beds free from Clinical Establishment Act as Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments have done. Besides that, it was also decided to make amendments in the Act on doctors-related issues so that patients of remote areas could get cheap medical facilities at primary and secondary level hospitals. But the government has initiated no action on it till date,” said the IMA president and secretary in their letter.
Dr AK Singh and Dr Pradeep Kumar Singh expressed surprise and said that “despite his (CM) assurance and the cabinet approval to the Medical Protection Bill (MPA), the said bill could not get the assembly’s nod.”
The IMA officials said since CM Hemant Soren has launched an air ambulance service as a revolutionary scheme in the health sector, doctors and health service operators of the state believe he (CM) would also remove stumbling blocks in the amendment of the CEA and implementation of the MPA in the state.
