New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Sunday met representatives from various government hospitals, including All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Safdarjung Hospital, and asked them to call off the ongoing strike, saying the NMC legislation was for the betterment of the medical fraternity in the country.
The Union Government on August 1 passed the National Medical Commission Bill in the parliament allegedly without consulting the medical fraternity who have raised serious concerns over the provisions of the legislation.
Meeting the representatives at his official residence, Harsh Vardhan said the agitating doctors are not able to understand the actual benefits of the legislation.
“Today morning I met the representatives of RDA AIIMS and reiterated that the NMC bill is a major change in the area of medical education. It will be a boon for the 130 crores Indian citizens and provide a comprehensive healthcare to them,” Harsh Vardhan said in a tweet.
He also met the representatives of RDA from the Safdarjung hospital.
“I also met the RDA representatives of Safdarjung Hospital and corrected their misperception of the NMC bill. I am sure that the agitating doctors would end their strike soon for the national interest,” the minister said.
The meeting happened a day after emergency services were restored in various government hospitals.
Earlier, many patients who had come to the hospitals for the treatment faced issues due to the prevailing strike.
Some waited for the past 3-4 days and few were scared that their condition will deteriorate and they would have to return back home without receiving treatment.
The bill also has provisions for making national standards in medical education uniform by proposing that the final year MBBS exams to be treated as an entrance test for the post-graduation and a screning test for students in medicine from foreign countries.
This exams, called the National Exit Test (NEXT), would ensure that the proposed NMC moves away from a system of repeated inspection of infrastructure and to fous on outcomes rather than processes.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) also extended its support to the striking doctors on Friday and said its core concerns over the National Medical Commission Bill remained unaddressed.
The IMA said it would never accept the provisions of the bill which provides for unqualified non-medical persons being registered and allowed to practice.
