NEW DELHI: The Centre is sitting over its proposal to amend the National Medical Commission (NMC) Act 2019, which allowed patients and their relatives to approach its ethics board against the decisions of the State Medical Councils (SMC) in complaints of medical negligence and misconduct against doctors, for the past two years. Currently, there is no provision for patients to challenge the decisions of SMCs regarding the medical negligence of doctors.
The health ministry made a provision and proposed an amendment to the NMC Act in 2022. But despite that, the government has yet to notify it, says RTI activist Dr K V Babu.
“Both the elected government and NMC are competing with each other to continue the illegality of denying the right to appeal by the patients against the SMC decision. Otherwise how can the Union Health Ministry still sit over the amendment to NMC Act, which has been in the public domain since December 2022 and the files regarding it were approved in May 2023 itself,” asked the Kerala-based ophthalmologist.
Babu, who has filed several RTIs in this regard, said in its reply on October 8 the health ministry informed him that the NMC Act 2019 is “under consideration with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ministry.” When a patient from Tamil Nadu approached the NMC this year, it replied on September 4 that “...as per existing NMC Act 2019, only registered medical practitioners can apply for first appeal in NMC.”
When NMC was formed in 2020 after the dissolution of the Medical Council of India (MCI), the provision was not added, although MCI had included it.
As the need was felt, the health ministry proposed an amendment in the NMC Act 2019 to incorporate the provision for patients/their relatives/complainants to prefer an appeal in the EMRB against the decision/action of SMC in complaints related to medical negligence/professional misconduct. The proposal was published for comment on December 29, 2022.
In its August 23, 2023 notification, the NMC said, “...it is clarified that Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) regulation, 2002, shall come into force immediately.” But there has been no move to implement it, though patients have the right to appeal.
“Now, the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) is not allowing appeals, though their notification of August 2023 allows it. This is a violation of the patient’s right,” Babu said, adding that since September 25, 2020, ever since MCI was dissolved, there has been no provision to appeal for the patients.
Proposal mooted
The health ministry made a provision and proposed an amendment to the National Medical Commission Act in 2022. However, the government is yet to notify it, says RTI activist Dr K V Babu. The act allows patients and their relatives to approach its ethics board against the decisions of the State Medical Councils in complaints of medical negligence.