Union Minister Harsh Vardhan seeks panel on health Bill
NEW DELHI: Union health minister Harsh Vardhan has written to Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to reconstitute the parliamentary panel for considering the Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill.
The Bill, introduced in the Upper House by former health minister JP Nadda, is aimed at regulating and standardising the education and services provided by allied and healthcare professionals. The Bill was referred to the parliamentary standing committee on health and family welfare for its recommendation.
The Bill provides for setting up of an Allied and Healthcare Council of India and corresponding state allied and healthcare councils which will play the role of a standard-setter and facilitator for such professions.
As per the Bill, there will be 15 major professional categories, including 53 professions in allied and healthcare streams. Clauses on offences and penalties have been included in the Bill to check malpractice.
The Bill also deals with the structure, constitution, composition and functions of the central council and state councils, such as framing policies and standards, regulation of professional conduct, creation and maintenance of live registers, and provisions for common entry and exit examinations.
The central council will comprise 47 members, of whom 14 members shall be ex-officio, representing diverse and related roles and functions, and the remaining 33 shall be non-ex-officio members who will mainly represent the 15 professional categories, an official statement had said.