Doctors to fast on Oct 2 to press for demands

Nagpur: To draw the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards their demands, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) members across India will be observing a one-day dawn-to-dusk fast on October 2. The national IMA leaders will also be visiting Sewagram ashram of Mahatma Gandhi. All the 2000 IMA branches will send the charter of demands to the PM for action.

An inter-ministerial body formed last year after an agitation by doctors agreed to fulfil all the demands. But there has been no further action on it.

IMA president Dr Vaishali Khandait said that the government needs to frame doctor-friendly laws in order to have patient-friendly atmosphere in hospitals. "The government needs to evolve a central law on assault on doctors," she said.

Dr Prakash Deo, a central IMA working committee member from the city, listed five major demands. He said that a central law should be enacted for protection of doctors from assault by patients' relatives. "There is a state law, but a central law is must for effectiveness," he said.

On PCPNDT Act, Dr Deo said that generally the affected doctor is suspended from the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) which means he cannot practice even before he is found guilty. "The law should be such that the doctor should be given punishment only after he is convicted by the court. The punishment should be graded and not the same for any quantum of the crime. Doctors are punished even for clerical faults," said Dr Deo.

Dr Deo also pointed out that the Clinical Establishment Act is very detrimental for small nursing homes and individually owned hospitals and hence should be amended. "The law was passed without any discussion in Parliament," he said.

The IMA is also demanding an elected national body of the Medical Council of India and not replace it with a national medical commission which is completely a government nominees' body. "Registration of other pathies doctors should be done under their specific councils and not along with allopathic doctors," said Dr Deo.

IMA is also demanding to abolish the national eligibility test after MBBS for starting practice by the doctors. The association is demanding capping of the compensation amount in cases of negligence by doctors.

DOCTORS' DEMANDS

· Central law on assault on doctors.

· Amending the PCPNDT Act — in relation to cancellation of registration by state medical council, graded punishments and removing non obstetrician doctors from the PCPNDT Act.

· Amending the Clinical Establishment Act

· Abolishing national medical commission and continuing with the old format of the Medical Council of India (MCI).

· Capping the amount of compensation to be paid to the patients by doctors