Govt to amend law related to clinical establishments; Registration to be mandatory

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government is going to amend the Gujarat Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2021, as conveyed to the High Court on Wednesday. The new amendment will make registration compulsory for all medical establishments, irrespective of their size.

Advocate General Kamal Trivedi conveyed this information during the hearing of a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding 17 individuals losing their vision after cataract surgeries at Ramanand Eye Hospital in Mandal town, Ahmedabad district, on January 10.

In compliance with the court’s directive, the state government submitted a report detailing the incident, the patients’ transfer to Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad for treatment, and the discharge of some patients against medical advice. The advocate general informed the high court that the government was in the process of amending the Gujarat Clinical Establishments Act, which currently mandates registration for hospitals with 50 or more beds, but the proposed amendment would make registration mandatory for all hospitals.

He explained that the amendment was proposed in December 2023, and objections were expected to be invited, a process taking a month. However, the Mandal hospital incident occurred in the interim. The advocate general emphasized that the amendment would oversee all activities of medical establishments, including medical supplies. DeshGujarat