------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Documented by Goa Desc Resource Centre Ph:2252660 Website: www.goadesc.org Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Press Clippings on the web: http://www.goadesc.org/mem/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Medical fraternity welcomes bill on illegal practitioners --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Parrikar said the Goa Medical Practitioners Bill 2004 would go a long way in putting a leash over illegal medical practitioners in the state as well as prohibiting government doctors from undertaking private practice.
Speaking to The Navhind Times, Mr Parrikar said the Bill will prevent the quacks and other unqualified practitioners of medicine from giving advice, prescribing medicines or undertaking treatments of the patients. "It would also prevent the qualified private doctors from practicing unless registered, thus making a provision for their mandatory registration," he added.
The state Cabinet has approved the draft of the Bill in its recent meeting. It was earlier placed before the Cabinet on September 2003, but was deferred as it was felt that the Bill required further consideration and changes, with respect to some clauses. The Bill would now be placed before the state Legislative Assembly for discussion and passing.
The Chief Minister also pointed out that the Bill has marked some exceptions, as in case of medical emergencies or in those cases where visiting specialist doctors are invited to treat a particular case. The Bill has provision for filing criminal charges against quacks and the government doctors involved in private practicing, he noted.
The Health Minister, Dr Suresh Amonkar, said that once the Bill becomes an Act, the setting up of a clinic, nursing home or hospital as well as practicing of medicine and dentistry would need a licence under the Act.
"The doctors already possessing the clinics, nursing homes or hospitals would also have to register afresh with the Competent Authority (CA) within a period of one year from the date of passing of the Act or face penalties as specified in the Act," he mentioned.
The Bill requires that every private doctor registered under the Act confirms to the minimum standards of health care, which may be prescribed from time to time.
"Every private doctor who applies for a licence to the Competent Authority is bound to be informed about the status of his application within 120 days from the date of receipt of the application, failing which the licence shall be deemed to have been granted to the doctor. And the authorities will have to issue a licence to him or her within a month," the Health Minister stated. The offences under the Act would be tried in the court of a judicial magistrate first class.
Meanwhile, the noted medical practitioner and the state secretary of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Dr Shekhar Salkar said that the Bill was the need of the time and even the reasonable implementation of the Act - once the Bill is passed by the Assembly - would prove to be a boon to the state medical sector.
First of all, the Bill would totally eliminate the quacks practicing in the state and it would guarantee services of qualified doctors, he observed, adding that once the Act is effective, the practicing doctors would have to be included into the records of the government and they will have to display the licence of practice in their clinics, nursing homes and hospitals.
Dr Salkar also welcomed the other part of the Bill which prevents the government doctors from doing private practices. "Today a wrong trend has set in where the junior as well as senior doctors are eager to start private practice, once they secure government job," he said.
He also said that a case wherein a senior government doctor is privately approached by a patient for second opinion can be overlooked, however, young government doctors trying to earn money through private practice cannot be allowed. "Though private practice is equated to large income, the government doctors should not forget that the government job offers security," he added.
Dr Salkar also questioned about the time available to the government doctors to do private practice. "In reality, heavy rush of patients in government hospitals/ health centres does not spare them any time for private practice, and hence they often sacrifice their official duty hours for private practice," he noted.
"The draft of the Bill is so much beneficial to the patients that even some of the pathological laboratories have started requesting about their inclusion in the same," he ended.
However, Dr Gladstone D'Costa, an orthopedic surgeon and vice-president of the Voluntary Health Association of Goa, holds that the government has chosen a soft option by conveniently overlooking the Private Nursing Homes Regulation Bill as well as the Goa Medical Council Amendment Act.
"The drafts of both, the Bill as well as the amendment of the Act have been cleared by the state branch of the Indian Medical Association, the Medical Council as well as the Private Nursing Home Owners Association, however it still lies with the Law Department," he lamented. "Let's hope that the Goa Medical Practitioners Bill 2004 is a start and not end of the story," he quipped.
Dr S M Palkar, the city Ayurveda practitioner said that the Act should have come into existence long ago. "However, better late than never," he stated, adding that the Bill once becomes Act should be immediately implemented.
Dr Palkar also recalled an incident wherein a quack, with no medical qualifications, had approached him claiming to have a cure for the arterial blocks, which would replace treatments like angiography and angioplasty. "The Act should take care of such unqualified doctors," he opined. ---------------------------------------------- The Navhind Times 6/02/04 page 1 ----------------------------------------------
======================================= GOA DESC RESOURCE CENTRE Documentation + Education + Solidarity 11 Liberty Apts., Feira Alta, Mapusa, Goa 403 507 Tel: 2252660 mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] website: www.goadesc.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Working On Issues Of Development & Democracy =======================================
##########################################################################
# Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts #
# More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others #
##########################################################################
