Ranchi, Jan 18 (PTI) The Jharkhand Chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Sunday asked the state government to amend the Clinical Establishments Act (CEA) and implement the Medical Protection Act (MPA) at the earliest for the benefit of both doctors and patients.
During its executive body meeting here, the IMA decided to submit a memorandum to the state government, warning that failure to act could lead to the launch of an agitation in the coming months.
Talking to reporters, state IMA president Arun Kumar Singh said their demands were still pending with the state government.
“We have only been given assurances, but no concrete steps have been taken yet. The government has adopted a lackadaisical approach towards our long-pending demands, which is not acceptable,” he said.
On CEA amendment, state IMA secretary Pradeep Kumar said, “We have only demanded an amendment to a rule in the Act. It can be amended without passing it through the assembly, but the government remains ignorant.” He added, “If the government thinks that the Act will benefit only doctors and hospitals, then that is their mistake. Earlier, the government had formed two high-level committees, and both had recommended that amendments to the Act are necessary in the state, where the number of patients is continuously increasing.” He explained that these amendments would allow doctors to open small medical establishments/clinics after registration, enabling patients to receive treatment closer to their vicinity and reducing the number of referral cases, similar to Bihar and other states.
Singh cautioned, “If the government does not take any steps, we will have no choice but to restart our agitation, which might put patients in trouble, something we do not want.” The IMA Jharkhand chapter formed an election committee consisting of former presidents to conduct the process.
More than 80 representatives from various districts of the state attended the meeting, along with senior office-bearers of IMA, former presidents, district representatives, and doctors from different branches.
During the meeting, the IMA Junior Doctors’ Network (JDN) and Medical Students’ Network (MSN) demanded an increase in the stipend of interns and the revision of remuneration for senior residents, as their payments have been pending for several months. PTI RPS RPS MNB
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