Karnataka pvt docs return to work, treat out-patients
Privatedoctorsacross Karnatakawerebacktoworkon Saturdayandbegantreatingoutpatients after theycalledoff their five-day strike on Friday.
“Alltheprivatedoctorsacross the state are back to their duties since morningafter wecalled off thestrike,”IndianMedicalAssociation’s(IMA)KarnatakaChapterSecretaryDrB.Veerannatold IANS here.
“Doctorsaretreating patients in Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) as we’d assured the high court on Friday.”
The state government had incorporated penalprovisionsin the Amendment Bill to the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act, 2007 to regulate the functioning of the private hospitals, including the treatment cost, Grievances Redressal Committees and imprisonment of doctors if a patient dies due to their medical negligence.
Nearly50,000doctorsworking at private hospitals, clinics and nursinghomeswereonafive-day strike with several doctors also on relay hunger strike at Belagavi, about 500km from here, where the 10-day winter session of the state legislature began on
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Monday. “Whatever our demandswere, the state government has agreed to make the amendments and table the bill again on Monday,” he said.
The state had agreed to the demands of the doctors at a twohour long meeting between the stategovernmentandrepresentatives of the private doctors at Belagavi on Friday, Veeranna said.“Aswedemanded,thestate government has agreed not to formGrievancesRedressalCommittees at the district level. Aggrievedpatientscanapproach theDistrictHealthOfficer(DHO) ortheKarnatakaMedicalCouncil(KMC)undertheexistingprovisions of the KPME Act,” asserted Veeranna.
A division bench of the high court comprising Acting Chief Justice HG Ramesh and Justice PSDineshKumarhadonFriday ordered the private doctors to withdrawtheirstrike,asthestate government had agreed to consider their demands on the amendment bill.
Thefourmaindemandsofthe privatedoctorsregardingthebill were inclusion of government doctorsundertheKPMEAct,no grievances redressal committees,nopenaltyonerringdoctors or their imprisonment for the death of a patient due to medical negligence and ceiling on cost of treatmentshouldbeapplicableto onlygovernmenthealthschemes underwhicheligiblepatientsare treated in private hospitals or clinics.