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Patients left in a lurch in Ludhiana as doctors protest against Clinical Establishments Act
IMA officials said all private hospitals and diagnostic centres, except Christian Medical College and Hospital, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital and the Ludhiana Civil Hospital, had been closed to oppose the ‘draconian law’
Doctors in Ludhiana observed a complete medical bandh on Tuesday to oppose the implementation of the Clinical Establishments Act (CEA) in Punjab.
Senior vice-president of the Ludhiana branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Dr Gaurav Sachdeva said all private hospitals and diagnostic centres, except Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC&H), Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMC&H) and Civil Hospital Ludhiana, had been closed to oppose the ‘draconian law’.
IMA (Ludhiana) president Dr Sunil Katyal said the new act, which will be implemented on July 1, was uncalled for and wrongly timed.
He said doctors were already governed by the Punjab Medical Council (PMC) and National Medical Council (NMC/MCI) and hospital buildings were governed by building regulations. Many hospitals are also getting accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH). “The introduction of this act will achieve nothing except the harassment of doctors,” Katyal added.
IMA Ludhiana honorary secretary Dr Dheeraj Aggarwal said the act was against people, patients, the poor and doctors.
“It will lead to an increase in hospital charges and treatment costs. Private health care delivery in Punjab is already of a high quality as over 70% of the patients seek treatment from private setups than from government hospitals,” Aggarwal said.
Punjab State governing Council joint action committee co-chairperson Dr Manoj K Sobti said, “The act will encourage inspector raj. The states where it has been implemented do not show any improvement in health care delivery.”
“We had informed the authorities about the medical bandh on June 23. If the government does not address our issues, we will hold a meeting on June 28 to discuss further course of action,” said Dr Sobti.
PATIENTS AT RECEIVING END
The strike inconvenienced several patients. Hajuria, a migrant labourer of Tibba Road, who was visiting Arora Neuro Centre on Mall Road with her seven-year-old son to collect a CT scan report was asked to return.
“We have travelled almost 10km on foot to collect my son’s CT report but I have been told to return home as the hospital is closed. My son is suffering from a liver disease and is in great pain. I need the report urgently so that the further treatment can be determined,” Hajuria said.
One Chander Kishore, who had come to the hospital from Jamalpur, said, “I had an appointment but on reaching here, I was told that the hospital was closed. All major hospitals are full of Covid-19 patients while the smaller hospitals are on strike. Where should a patient go?”
67-year-old Harish Kumar also faced a similar predicament. “I came to Deep Hospital in Model Town for treatment of my prostate. I was to be diagnosed today but on reaching here I was told to return on Wednesday.”
WHAT IS THE CLINICAL ESTABLISHMENTS ACT?
The notification under sub-section three of Section 1 of the Punjab Clinical Establishments (Registration & Regulation) Ordinance, 2020, brings all clinical establishments with a capacity of at least 50 beds under the provisions of the ordinance.
This is in line with the decision taken by the council of ministers during its April 10 meeting.
As per the official statement, “The ordinance will provide a mechanism for registration and regulation of clinical establishments in a professional manner, to ensure compliance of minimum standards of facilities and services, as well as transparency in the functioning of these establishments for fair and proper delivery of health services to the common man.”
