‘No one-sided decision’ on medical commission Bill

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 21

Union Minister of State for Culture Mahesh Sharma today said the Union Government was open to all suggestions and was well aware of the Indian Medical Association’s concerns on the National Medical Commission Bill.

He was in Dehradun today to attend an Indian Medical Association’s symposium. He said  being a doctor himself, he understands that the Indian Medical Association’s concerns on the National Medical Commission Bill 2017 were genuine and added that the Centre would never take a one-sided decision on the matter. 

“And that is the very reason the National Medical Commission Bill 2017 has been sent to the standing committee”, Sharma pointed out. 

He said even in the case of the Clinical Establishment Act, state governments were resolving the matter at their own end.

He said it was unfortunate that cordial relations between doctor and patient were missing these days , which was a matter of big concern. He said introspection was needed to find out what the reasons were that the situation had come to such a passé. He reminded the gathering that even a corporate head could not earn the honour that is given to a doctor by a patient.

Welcoming the minister, IMA, Dehradun branch, president Dr Geeta Khanna dwelt at length on the challenges of the Clinical Establishment Act. She hoped that the Uttarakhand Government would make necessary amendments to it. She reminded that the states such as Haryana had kept 50 bed and below hospitals out of the purview of the Act.

The National Medical Commission Bill

• Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda introduced the National Medical Commission Bill on December 29, 2017, in the Lok Sabha
• The Bill was drafted by a four-member committee headed by the Niti Aayog vice-chairman and aims to reform the medical education sector, which has been under scrutiny for “corruption and unethical practices”
• If passed, the Bill will repeal the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and provide for a medical education system which ensures: availability of adequate and high-quality medical professionals; adoption of the latest medical research by medical professionals’ periodic assessment of medical institutions; an effective grievance redressal mechanism