New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday issued contempt notices to the Centre and the Medical Council of India (MCI) for their failure to comply with its earlier order to begin a three-year ‘Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC)’ course for practicing medicine in primary health centres in rural areas.

Justice Vipin Sanghi issued notices on a plea to begin contempt of court proceedings against them and sought their replies within four weeks. In a petition filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, petitioner Meenakshi Gautam said rural people have no worthwhile access to the medical help and face great risk to their lives due to lack of qualified medical practitioners in rural areas.

She said a division bench of the high court on November 10, 2010 had ordered the MCI to begin BRHC course, approved by the health ministry, by March 2011 but nothing has been done so far.
The court had given the MCI two months to finalise the curriculum and syllabus of the three-and-half-year-long Primary Healthcare Practitioner Course, approved by the Union government, she added.
The course was named BRHC, she said adding the court had given another two months to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the endorsement of the course syllabus.
"The course should have been introduced by March 2011 as per the time-lines stipulated by the court in its order. No such course has been introduced by the ministry as of February 2012. The MCI apparently opposed the course in 2011 and is not willing to notify, the petitioner said, seeking the court`s direction to begin the course.
Observing that "it is better to be treated by a doctor than by a quack," the high court bench earlier had allowed the Centre to go-ahead with the introduction of the bachelor degree course to take care of primary health in rural areas and had asked MCI to prepare a syllabus for it. "To practice in primary health care centres, a person has to complete the course and undergo a six-month internship thereafter," the government had told the bench adding that it had approved the course and the MCI had to implement the same.
The centre had further said after obtaining an experience of five years in BRHC, if the person does a bridge course for two years, he will be equivalent to a MBBS doctor.
The MCI had informed the bench that it will prepare the syllabus within two months, after which the government had to issue a notification in six weeks thereafter to begin the course from academic year 2011-2012. PTI Observing that "it is better to be treated by a doctor than by a quack," the high court bench earlier had allowed the Centre to go-ahead with the introduction of the bachelor degree course to take care of primary health in rural areas and had asked MCI to prepare a syllabus for it.
"To practice in primary health care centres, a person has to complete the course and undergo a six-month internship thereafter," the government had told the bench adding that it had approved the course and the MCI had to implement the same.
The centre had further said after obtaining an experience of five years in BRHC, if the person does a bridge course for two years, he will be equivalent to a MBBS doctor.
The MCI had informed the bench that it will prepare the syllabus within two months, after which the government had to issue a notification in six weeks thereafter to begin the course from academic year 2011-2012.
PTI