IMA announces complete shutdown of private hospitals on Friday

Vishal Joshi

Tribune News Service

Kurukshetra, December 11

The Haryana chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday announced to completely suspend the healthcare services at all private hospitals on Friday to oppose the Haryana government’s decision of introducing the Central Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act.

Dr AP Setia, state IMA president, told The Tribune the decision was taken unanimously at an emergency meeting of the association late last evening in Karnal. He said the IMA would not allow the state to introduce the Central Act that was aimed at wiping out small and medium medical establishments.

He said any patient with emergency care would also be referred to the government hospitals on Friday. OPDs will be suspended and no private hospital will admit any new patient from 6 am until midnight on Friday.

Setia said the IMA was forced to take the step to oppose the state government’s “autocratic” decision.

“Office-bearers of all 34 branches of IMA Haryana and the state executive council unanimously agreed to take more stringent ways in the next phase to oppose the state authorities. Any inconvenience to the patients is deeply regretted as IMA is fighting for the professional interests of the doctors,” said Setia.

He blamed the Manohar Lal Khattar government for backtracking by rejecting to change mutually agreed upon amendments in the Haryana Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Act.

“The Central Act passed in 2010 failed to implement due to several impractical provisions in it. There is a provision of fixing fee structures of doctors’ prescription and treatments that are not acceptable to the medical fraternity. The government wants the private doctors to treat the trauma patients for free with no provision to financially support the clinic for such cases,” he said.

“IMA held six meetings with the government since May to bring changes in the Haryana Act. Forty objections were agreed upon by the authorities. But now the government is now adamant to roll out the Central Act and the IMA raises strong objections of this rolling back,” he said.

Setia said the state government was introducing the Central Act in view of a case in Gurugram’s Fortis hospital case.

“Neither Fortis nor most of the doctors in such corporate hospitals are members of the Haryana IMA. Our association in no way is supporting or lobbying for the accused hospital or its medical staff. Hasty decision will crumble the healthcare sector in Haryana and the onus will be on the government,” he said.