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The Maharashtra Indian Medical Association (IMA) which is largely involved in improving medical education and healthcare services put forth requests and suggestions to provide the medical staff with a peaceful environment and better working conditions, as a per a release.
The IMA addressed the issue of attacks on doctors and healthcare facilities and demanded a strict and enforceable law to reduce the attacks. IMA mentioned in their demands that amendments were required to be made to the Maharashtra Medicare Act, 2010, design 'Safe Zones' to ensure the protection of medical staff and proper security systems in medical areas. IMA also suggested changes on hospital registration and renewal and proposed that 50 beds should be exempted from the Maharashtra Nursing Home Act, renewal process should take place through a single-portal system. Suggestions were also made to remove provisions for an increase in the registration fee, the requirement for older hospitals to meet required infrastructure needs and provisions regarding the qualification of nurses based on the number of hospital beds along with several other regulatory requirements. Further, the IMA also suggested changes regarding biomedical waste management and proposed that bank guarantees should be removed, standard and reasonable rates should be implemented for waste management and the requirement for the sewage treatment plants should be removed in the rural areas. Recommendations were also made regarding the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogyaa Yojana (MJPJAY) and suggestions were made to include private hospitals in the scheme and transparency in the scheme. Furthermore, suggestions were also made to establish separate, safe and well-equipped restrooms for all doctors especially female doctors working the night shifts. Recommendations to improve infrastructure, hire qualified faculty, balance working hours, assess work-related stress of doctors and install CCTV cameras in areas with a high number of female doctors were also made. IMA also put forth the suggestion that the 'Seat Blocking Bond Policy' should be immediately abolished considering the unaffordable bond amounts that were set and damaged the morale of the doctors. Suggestions were also made to re-establish democratic governance and increase the number of council members. Recommendations were also made to ensure drug quality and waive GST from essential medical items. In a parliamentary democracy, the only way to raise our concerns is to sensitise the common man and create a public opinion. The health of the nation deserves to be an important election issue and IMA strives to streamline its concerns into a Health manifesto. IMA rededicates itself to the health of our people and to work with the government to achieve affordable and accessible healthcare services for the citizens of Maharashtra, the release read. (ANI)
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