New Delhi: With the discussions over the NMC bill reaching a crescendo, the National President decided the line of action at the Doctor’s Mahapanchayat. Over 25000 doctors from all over the country convened at the Indira Gandhi stadium for the Doctors Mahapanchayat on Sunday. Agitation was raised by the IMA and other organisations to oppose the suggested recommendations by the Parliamentary Standing Commission in the NMC bill.
Dr Ravi Wankhedkar had to make the call before the completion of the mahapanchayat as the students’ crowd went furious to get the line of action. Now All the medical students and doctors will go on an indefinite strike on 2nd April and the president also rejects the advisory proposed by the Parliamentary standing committee. He also said that there is no need for the Government to impose any law if they only want to boost AYUSH, homeopathy, pharmacists and dentist, instead the entire team of Allopathy doctors across the country will dissolve automatically.
Doctors and representatives from all the states were allowed put up their concerns in front of the Mahapanchayat team headed by Dr Ravi.
“Stating that the proposed advisory will only create nuisance than solving the actual issue, the changes suggested are cosmetic in nature. Dissolving the autonomous body and appointing the new commission will be against the welfare of the medical professionals. Practising homeopathy and AYUSH in its purest form and not mixing it with modern medicine practise will sustain better healthcare among the masses. The PSC report is deceptive to such an extent that it will open up the floodgates to allow backdoor entry to crosspathy thereby promoting quackery legally. Even after the cosmetic amendments, the core issues still remain where it is”, Said Dr. R N Tandon, Secretary General, IMA Speaking to Ten News.
Dr. Vinay Aggarwal, Coordinator of the Doctors Mahapanchayat emphasized on the violence against the doctors and insisted that the ‘problems faced the doctors is enough, now it’s time to payback’. Declaring hospitals as safe zones was one of the most sought issues discussed. “Violence against doctors and health staff shall not be condoned any further which is somehow interlinked with the lack of infrastructure or healthcare facilities provided by the government. People should understand the actual meaning medical negligence which a doctor never intends to perform false surgery and people should never take the laws in their hands. IMA also demanded for ‘No criminal prosecution’ for minor clinical errors”, Said Dr. Vinay Aggarwal speaking to Ten News.
Dr Santanu Sen, Councillor
,Kolkata Municipal Corporation Said, “The NMC is a pro-private management Bill paving the way for widespread corruption. Medical education in the country will become expensive placing the lower socio-economic groups in great disadvantage. Rural healthcare is bound to improve only by starting new Government medical colleges and wisely deploying the medical manpower. Measures initiated by MCI to incentivise the young MBBS graduates with additional marks for PG selection by serving in the rural areas has not yet been accepted by any of the states. This goes to say that all arguments of the Government are hollow and its intention is malafide and harmful.”
Dr Vedprakash Mishra Speaking about the Medical Colleges said, “Provisions to open new medical colleges are ambiguous and the provisions to begin PG courses are unregulated. Recommendation to increase the regulation of fee in private medical colleges from 40 to 50% does not make a material difference. However lack of clarity on implementation may jeopardise the decision itself. The autonomy of the state medical councils marginalised in the bill remains the same. The appellate authority vested with the Government will now be vested with National Medical Tribunal which is a remedy worse than melody.
Representations to the states have cosmetically gone up from 3 to 10. Any one state will get an opportunity once in 5 years only. At any point of time 20 states will be out of NMC. This should be compared with MCI where all states are represented and hence allows plurality of opinion in our federal set up.”
