BENGALURU: THE government’s move to push the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill is being seen as discriminating between private and government medical practitioners. Legal experts say this amounts to violation of Article 14 (equality before law) of the Constitution. Former Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde said the government, by pushing the Act, seemed to be showcasing that all is well in government hospitals. “I am not saying that negligence on the part of private practitioners can be condoned or high fee structure is right.
There is negligence on the part of government doctors too. Why keep them out of this?’’ he asked. Also, doctors are already held liable under consumer protection laws. “When these laws exist, what was the need to bring the KPME Act?’’ he asked. “If the government had created good facilities and got good doctors, this day would not have come. People have lost trust in government hospitals and therefore go to private hospitals for treatment. Because the government did not develop its hospitals better, it led to mushrooming of private hospitals. After so many years of having let private hospitals become what they are today, now you (government) are bringing this Act, which is not fair,’’ said Justice Hegde. It is the duty of any government to give good health care and education and it has failed on this front, he felt. Senior advocate Ashok Harnahalli said as per laws, doctors are not supposed to protest. If the court intervenes, the registration of medical practitioners with the Medical Council of India can be cancelled for misconduct.
Also, the state government can impose fines on them, he said. Harnahalli said in order to get experts in the medical field and to buy equipment, one needs money and hospitals raise this from patients. “This cannot be solved by protesting. The government should hold a meeting with senior doctors and check if amendments can be made,’’ he said. Retired high court judge Justice M F Saldanha too felt this is controversial. “People are angry because private hospitals charge more, recommend unnecessary tests and there are also instances of medical negligence. With no remedy for this, the government tried to bring in the KPME Act. But in my view, the law should be uniform, government doctors should also be brought under its purview,’’ he said. However, Dr Asha Benakappa, director of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health said they are already controlled by bureaucrats and the government machinery, unlike private hospitals and doctors. “In our hospital, under 11 schemes, both of state and Union government funding, the poorest get free treatment. Government super-specialty hospitals and many other government hospitals are much better than private hospital,’’ she claimed.