ADEH DEMANDS AFFORDABLE MEDICAL EDUCATION AND SEPARATE BOARD FOR MEDICAL ETHICS

SUBMITS REPRESENTATION TO STANDING COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Ludhiana, February 14, 2018: A delegation of Nationwide network of Alliance of Doctors for Ethical Healthcare (ADEH) comprising of Dr Abhay Shukla, Dr Arun Mitra, Dr Arun Gadre and Dr Monica Thomas submitted representation to the standing committee on health, called to seek public opinion on National Medical Commission (NMC).

Submitting suggestions on various clauses in the bill they said that this bill would promote privatization of medical education and make it more expensive and deprive deserving students from getting into medical colleges. The clause of opening up medical colleges to for profit organizations is a clear pointer to this.

The clause that government will regulate fees for up to only 40% of seats will lead to exorbitant charges by the private managements. Fee of all seats should be regulated. 40% seats shall have same fees as in government hospitals and other seats could have marginal differences that the deserving students are not deprived.

The structure of NMC should have at least 30% elected members and there shall be some representation to the health organizations struggling for ethics in health care.

There should be a separate Board of Ethics which should prepare clear guidelines for state medical councils. The Ethics Board shall oversee functioning of state medical councils and shall have competent redressal forum for needy patients. The Ethics boards shall have 50% members other than doctors like lawyers, civil society members as in many other countries like UK.

Ethics should be a part of medical curriculum which should correlate public health care needs in the minds of younger generation.

There shall be only one final exam for medical students which will be used both for passing under graduation and for entry in to post graduation.

ADEH also pointed out that increasing privatization of medical education and healthcare would only enhance the problems which have cropped up due to them over the past years. When the root cause of exorbitant fees in private medical colleges is not even touched in NMC bill, merely shifting the task of monitoring private medical collages to private entity from the infamous MCI will not help. The new monitoring agency will be as vulnerable for corruption as the MCI had been.