Non emergency private medical services affected across Gujarat

Gandhinagar:

Non emergency medical services in private hospitals, clinics and nursing homes across Gujarat have been badly affected due to the dawn to dusk (6 am to 6pm) pan India strike called by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to protest against National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill.

OPD services and planned surgery wing of these medical facilities in Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch, Navsari, Valsad, Jamnagar, Palanpur and all other cities and towns are completely shut.

Deputy CM Nitin Patel who is also in-charge of Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education departments told newsmen here that the doctors have put forth their issues as they had done earlier also and as the bill was a central one, these would be forwarded to the center.

He said that the NMC bill was also necessary.

Notably, the Modi government is likely to table the Bill in the Parliament on Monday. IMA has been opposing the Bill calling it ‘pro-rich’ and anti-poor.

In the bill the Government has planned to overhaul the medical education and healthcare sector and one of the key provisions of the Bill seeks to create the National Medical Commission by replacing the existing Medical Council of India (MCI). The initial Bill even allowed for a ‘bridge course’ to allow Ayush doctors to prescribe ‘modern’ medicines, which was later withdrawn in the amended Bill after vehement opposition by the IMA.

The Association if the bill was passed the medical education will become inaccessible to candidates from the financially weak background and would produce doctors from the rich and urban sections of the population.

The IMA which had earlier organized a similar strike in January this year, has named today’s strike “Dhikkar Diwas – no to NMC Bill” protest.

DeshGujarat