The new Nursing home regulation act in Maharashtra

[Guest guest]

The new Nursing home regulation act in maharashtra

Dear friends

Thanks to the tireless and decade old campaign of CEHAT in Mumbai,

and now the World bank's health system project initiative, Mah Govt

is doing things on the BNHRA front. Sunil Nandraj has done an

excellent job in coordinating the whole exercise to a stage where the

MCEA (the new name ) will appear with teeth and claws. The amendments

are extensive and intensive. I was present for a workshop last week .

While I can not share the full draft with you (that will appear on

their website soon), some salient features are like this:

It will apply for all areas --metros to villages will cover

clinics , maternity homes, nursing homes with stratification--all of

them The by-laws will decide the norms-physical, personnel,

procedures, etc stringent penalties for those running unregistered

establishments ( 2yr imprisonment)

Renewal every three years mandatory reports on essential statistics -

-like notifiable diseases statuary functions like first aid for

accidents, national programme cooperation, display of fees, issuing

case summaries to patients etc attempts to 'distribute' of

facilities (difficult) No attempt at cost controls in private sector

(difficult, better left out) Spares govt establishments (lamentable

indeed) Will involve all stake holders and possible NGOs in the

final process

Penalty extends to ' a persion working in unauthorised establishments.

The discussion brought out several imp suggestions, which will

possibly find place in the new act. Some points of dispute

like " admission of HIV cases can not be refused " are there and the

core group will consideer all objections/suggestions.

My suggestions in brief are:

preserve space for alternative healing outside council-regulated

pathies. Develop instruments for peventing cross practice in reg

clinics Do a few imp things outside the act to make available crash

courses for other pathy people to learn all medicines, so that

politically it is feasible to implement the act. ( If such a passage

is not allowed, I am sure the act will never see the 'light of the

day', and will be convneinetly ignored by politicians or even

attacked. The lobbies are too strong to allow an act chopping out 80%

private practitioners in the periurrban/slum/rural areas .

In villages such an act will be opposed even by the people not only

providers. However, I did not say this point in the workshop in order

to respect sunil's suggestion and restrict the discussion to

an 'internally consistent act'. Obviously the factors of external

relevance are too imp to ignore if the act-makers want it to pass and

later function.

Warm regards:

Dr Shyam Ashtekar

SriRamwadi, MG Road, Nasik 422001

Ph 0253 -580147 also 02557-21143/8 at Dindori

http://www.primaryhealthcaregroup.org

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Cross posting from mfriendcircle