BENGALURU: Doctors at nearly 45,000 private hospitals and nursing homes in Karnataka staged protests today against the proposed "draconian" amendments to an act governing the medical profession, badly affecting services in out-patient departments (OPD).
The doctors are opposing the proposed amendments to the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007, to make the private hospitals and nursing homes accountable, saying they were detrimental to the medical profession.
Protesting against the proposed amendments based on the recommendations made by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Vikramajit Sen, the doctors suspended outpatient and consultancy services.
Nearly 45,000 private hospitals, including those attached to medical colleges, nursing homes, and clinics across the state were affected by the one-day agitation, claimed Indian Medical Association's state unit president H N Ravindra.
Only emergency cases were taken up, he added.
There were huge crowds outside government hospitals, that were open for out-patients.
Flaying the proposed amendments, Ravindra said, "The government has tabled a draconian amendment to the KPME Act, which existed since 2007. It is detrimental to the profession." The government intended to set up another cell, although doctors already face many penalties through consumer court.
"It wants us doctors to run around the courts," he said, adding that there was another provision for imprisoning doctors for three years for mistakes.
"No doctor treats his patient to kill. Instead of upgrading government hospitals, the government wants to regulate us. We demand that the government should include government hospitals also in the bill," Ravindra said.
Medical Director of Manipal Hospitals Nagendra Swamy came down heavily on the government for the amendments.
He claimed that the Justice Sen panel had recommended inclusion of government hospitals in the bill, but the recommendation had been dropped.
"Why should the onus be only on private hospitals while there is no accountability for the government hospitals?" Dr Swamy asked.
He alleged that the move was as an "election gimmick" to woo voters in the state, which is going to Assembly polls early next year.
The Karnataka Janaarogya Chaluvali, a network of civil society and local organisations working on health issues, condemned the agitation by private medical establishments, saying they were opposing the government's attempt to hold them accountable, adhere to the safety guidelines and patients' rights.
It also alleged that the private hospitals were spreading "misinformation" by "twisting and misrepresenting" various provisions of the amendments.