'Controversial norms kept in abeyance'

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JAN. 13. In the face of intense criticism of the recently issued guidelines for private practice, the Health Minister, Mr. V. C. Kabeer, today said that implementation of certain norms would be kept in abeyance until they were subjected to further scrutiny.

The State unit of the Indian Medical Association, meanwhile, warned of stiff resistance to any move to dilute the doctrine bowing to extraconstitutional forces.

The Health Minister, while welcoming the debate that the guidelines had generated, said that officials had been directed to suspend implementation of certain norms until they were finalised after further discussions. The advice of the Chief Minister, Mr. E. K. Nayanar, has been sought in this regard, he added.

The norms pertain to allowing doctors to engage in practice at places other than their place of residence, use of basic diagnostic equipment for consultation at home and disregarding as malpractice the services rendered by doctors to a patient prior to admission and after discharge from the hospital.

The State unit of the Indian Medical Association has described the new doctrine as beneficial to all, and warned that any dilution of the doctrine would be opposed.

By codifying the access to the services of Government doctors during their off-duty hours, the Government had safeguarded the interest of the general public approaching a Government hospital. Moreover, the Government had proposed hospital committees to prevent malpractice, according to the IMA State secretary, Dr. T. Suresh Kumar, and the president, Dr. R. V. Asokan.

The IMA noted that the Government had by institutionalising private practice, balanced the need to provide security for doctors against safeguarding public interest.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : One shot dead, police firing in 2 places
Next     : LDF Govt. a failure: Muraleedharan