Doctors affiliated to the Indian Medical Association (IMA) resorted to a country-wide strike on June 25 to protest against the Union government’s decision to set up a National Commission for Health and their other policy decisions affecting the medical profession.
According to the IMA, the Centre has set up a National Commission for Health and has brought under its umbrella the National Council for Human Resource in Health, Bachelor of Rural Health Care and MCI.The government has also proposed some amendments in laws related to clinical establishment and private practice which is being resented by doctors.
According to an appeal from Dr D R Rai, Hony Secretary General, IMA the Government is ‘seemingly hell bent on snatching the autonomy of the medical profession’. The introduction of the National Council for Human Resources in Health (NCHRH) Bill-2011 is aimed to create a superarching body over Medical Council of India and Paramedical Councils, while the implementation of Clinical Establishment (Regn.and Regulation) Act which will make it mandatory for every clinical establishment to register and empower the Government to lay down minimum standards of space, infrastructure and equipments and number of qualified staff. The penalties are huge: Rs 50000 for first offense, Rs 2 lakhs for second and Rs 5 lakhs for subsequent offenses. Thirdly, the letter alleges that the dissolution of the Medical Council of India and a third consecutive term for its autocratically appointed Board of Governors are just the tip of the iceberg.
Dr Rai’s appeal also admitted that although calling a nationwide protest might be considered a breach of the Hippocratic oath, this was the only way medicos could get everyone’s attention and explain the gravity of the situation. His letter assured that public that that emergency cases would not be affected.
The call for the strike had a nationwide impact. The Maharashtra wing of the IMA claimed that thousands of doctors in the state abstained from work on Monday. They were supported by members of Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) who wore black ribbons though they attended the OPDs in public hospitals such as KEM hospital in Parel or Sir JJ group of Hospitals. The Gujarat wing of the IMA also supported the strike. The effect of the strike was also seen in other parts of the country. D octors working at the Private medical establishments in Chandigarh came together and raised slogans against the union government on Monday. In Guntur, Andhra Pradesh hundreds of doctors took out a rally to the Collector’s office and it was supported by the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors’ Association. Around 200 OPDs of private hospitals in Bhopal remained closed due to the strike. Doctor s in Bihar also participated in the strike which in turn affected the medical services in the state.
Box: IMA’S Demands
- Abolishing of Clinical Establishment Act
- Creating more local bodies instead of more national bodies like National Commission for Human Resources in Health Bill 2011
- Getting rid of Bachelor in Rural Health Care (BRHC) course
- Cancelling the exit exam for doctors
- National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to be held only after all states have uniform syllabus
- Better pay scales for resident and junior doctors
- Changes in Consumer Protection Act
- Cancelling compulsory rural service for all doctors and enforcing it for doctors from government colleges only
EH News Bureau