'Clinical Establishments Act to be strictly implemented'

Jaipur: Rajasthan government today said that Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act will be strictly implemented to check instances of private clinics and hospitals flouting rules while treating BPL patients.

While responding to a Special Mention motion moved in the Assembly by BSP member Manoj Nyangli, Medical and Health Minister R S Rathore said that the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2012 was adopted by the previous Congress government in August 2011, notified in June 2013 and now certain amendments were tabled in the House by the present government.

Rathore said that private hospitals were not only flouting rules when it came to charging the BPL patients but also rejecting the norms of Centre and state-run health schemes.

67 hospitals took land on concessional rate in the state to treat 20 to 30 per cent poor patients free of charge, he said.

"Ill/non qualified staff have been hired in some hospitals. Though the state government has appointed 'Rogi Mitra' to provide guidance to poor patients at the private hospitals, they were not allowed to work properly," Rathore said.

Private hospitals and clinics get concessional land up to 50 per cent on reserved price from the state government, but poor patients are neglected by them, the minister said, adding, "when their owners wanted to open hospital/clinic they used to sign MoUs with the state government but after that they forget to follow any instructions".

Rathore further said that in treating recent swine flu cases, "these hospitals did not obey the government's guidelines".

The minister said, that recently Rajasthan government held talks with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and other Medical and Health organisations to finalise the amendments made in the existing act.

The Clinical Establishment Act (Registration and Regulation) Act (Amendment) would be taken up for debate in the coming sittings of the House, he said.

There will be no prohibition on the private hospitals and clinics but they needed certain regulation and strict implementation of the Act for poor patients.

In his motion, the BSP legislator had alleged that there was already shortage of doctors in the government-run hospitals, and if this act was implemented, the medical and health services would go "hay-wire", and red-tapism would grow leading to corruption.