Bill making emergency Medical Treatment a Must

LS passes bill making emergency treatment a must




A bill making it obligatory for any clinical establishment to provide treatment to persons in emergency medical conditions was passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The Clinical Establishments Bill also makes registration of all clinical establishments compulsory. This step would help in curbing illegal organ trade across the country.
It was passed without discussion amid an uproar in the House over alleged links of a Union Minister with a Bangladeshi arms dealer.
The bill envisages setting up a national council and state councils for regulating such establishments. It would ensure that no person runs a clinic unless it has been duly registered in accordance with prescribed procedure.
For registration and continuation of operation, every establishment will have to follow minimum standards of facilities and services.
The establishments will have to provide the medical examination and treatment as may be required to stabilise the emergency medical condition of any individual who comes or is brought to the facility.
The bill envisages setting up of a National Council for Clinical Establishments and separate state councils to regulate the medical facilities.
The state councils will be responsible for compiling and updating the state register of clinical establishments and sending monthly returns in digital format for updating the national register.
The state government would also set up district authorities for registration of health units, with the district collector and district health officer as members.
The Government had felt the necessity of the act after reports of widespread illegal organ donation and sex selection ultrasound tests carried out by certain private medical establishments.
The proposed legislation will apply to all clinical establishments under all recognised systems of medicines like Allopathy and Ayush.
The legislation will apply to all clinical establishments including single doctor establishments with or without beds.
The bill which had been introduced by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in the Lok Sabha on April 15 will now have to be passed by the Rajya Sabha.