Hyderabad (Rahnuma)This week many doctors of Hyderabad held a protest against the National Medical Commission Bill of 2019. The NMC bill Will replace the Medical Council of India with the National Medical Commission.
While the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan hailed the bill as “historic” and said that it will benefit doctors and medical students; the majority of doctors and students do not feel the same.
“We strongly condemned the NMC Bill. Clause 32 in the Bill is objectionable. And it should be completely removed. Clauses 51 and 52 are going to open doors to quackery and will damage public health. We request the government to withdraw these objectionable clauses,” Dr Arjun, Chief Secretary Junior Doctor Association told ANI.
As of now all the medical issues are taken care of by the Medical Council of India. By introducing this bill the Indian government proposes to replace the Medical Council of India with National Medical Commission. The NMC bill will decrease the representation of elected members from 75 percent in MCI to 20 percent in NMC.
Many doctors and students are specifically condemning clauses 32, 51 and 52. The doctors believe that these clauses of the bill will prevent people from getting health care and damage the medical ethics of India. The doctors have provided an argument for section 32, 51 and 52 of the NMC bill to be objectionable and have asked the government to completely remove it from the bill.
Doctors have also raised their voices against sections 32 and 15 of the Bill pertaining to licensing of health providers and the entrance exam for post-graduate course/NEXT. They say that the Bill empowers Central government to override any suggestion of the NMC with is ethically wrong.
Modi government considers the bill as one of the biggest reforms in the field of medicine. The government hopes that the NMC bill will counter corruption in the medical education system and provide transparency in the wake of corruption charges against the Medical Council of India.
While some doctors have displayed problem with specific sections or clauses of the NMC Bill, many have protested to throw away the complete bill and let the 86 year old Medical Council of India hold the power that it holds today.
