The Medical Fraternity is quite apprehensive over the National Medical Council Bill, 2019, which has been given the final clearance by the Centre. The doctors under the Indian Medical Association have expressed their reservations on many issues that are yet to be cleared by the Centre.
With the NMC Bill yet to be presented in parliament, the IMA is gearing up for an agitation if the Bill contained provisions against their interest. The IMA office bearers of southern states had met on July 20 in Kanyakumari to discuss mainly NMC. The leaders of the various state chapters are known to have opined that the Association should go for an agitation if the provisions in the proposed NMC bill were against their interest.
Talking to indianflash, IMA Kerala Chapter state secretary Dr N Sulfi said that the doctors were a bit curious about the Bill as lots of clarification was needed in many areas. “The medical fraternity is anxious of how this Bill would come through,” he said.
Stating that they were yet to get the draft of the bill, he said that the reports that are coming out on the Bill says that major changes have not been affected in the present draft.
“The National Exist Test (NEXT), a common final MBBS exam, which would serve as a Licentiate exam for admission to PG course is there. If a person getting a lower mark or comes below the rank could ever go for a higher course as the present bill only says of a single exam for PG,” he said.
Dr Sulfi said that the removal of the provision of bridge course that allowed practitioners of alternative streams to take up allopathy is a welcome note.
Noting that the IMA had already made its reservations against the number of elected representatives in the governing body, he said that the issue is learned to remain the same. This needs to be addressed, he added.
The IMA had been against the NMC from the very beginning of its introduction, stating that Bill was undemocratic, anti-federal and anti-people. They also alleged that the Bill would take away the federal right of the universities and state Governments.
The Cabinet had on July 17 gave the nod for the National Medical Council that would replace the existing Medical Council of India. The Bill is likely to be placed in the ongoing parliament session.
