Doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and others have been ‘invited’ by the Parliament Standing Committee of Health and Family Welfare to discuss the National Medical Commission Bill (NMC), 2017, which is currently under examination.
Doctors who have been agitating against the proposed Bill have been called for discussion on February 27. The Bill, which was tabled in Parliament last December and was later sent to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, seeks to replace the Medical Commission of India (MCI) with another body. It also proposes allowing practitioners of alternative medicines including homoeopathy and Ayurveda, to practise allopathy after completing a “bridge course”.
Doctors have been against passing of the Bill stating that it is unfair, and anti-patients and doctors. The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association noted that the proposed legislation will “cripple” the functioning of the medical professionals by making them completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators.
‘Bill opposed’
The commission representing allopathic practitioners has opposed the Bill, while another group led by the All India Homeopathic Doctors’ Federation (AIHDF) has extended support to the legislation. “The bridge course will help standardise treatment and improve public health services,” said AIHDF member Sunil Takalkar.
