The National Medical Commission Act of 2019 is facing massive protests. Doctors and activists across the country say it will corporatise medical education and lower the quality of healthcare providers. The debate around the Act lays bare the problems that rankle all technical education institutes in the country, which hardly ensure quality education to the aspiring youth
The mood was belliGERent among doctors on August 1. The Indian Medical Association (IMA), which represents the fraternity in the country, proclaimed that no doctor would attend to patients in an emergency. Leading hospitals and medical institutions such as the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi had, by this time, withdrawn from emergency services, apart from outpatient and in-patient departments. As patients suffered and relatives bustled to find just about any medical practitioner for treatment, doctors were out on the streets protesting the passage of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill 2019 in the Lok Sabha on July 29. This was one of the biggest strikes called by the medical fraternity. Senior doctors, medical students, medical associations as well as public policy experts joined hands to oppose it. Amid protests, Rajya Sabha too passed the bill. On August 8, the President signed it making it a law.
The government hails the NMC Act 2019 as a “historic” reform much needed for the country’s health education and practice. It repeals the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The new body, called MCI, will replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) which was dissolved in 2010 following corruption charges against its president Ketan Desai by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The Supreme Court too had declared that MCI was steeped in corruption.
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