Doctors, students up in arms against NMC in Tirupati

Tirupati: The medical fraternity is up in arms against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill which was passed by both houses of Parliament and awaiting President's consent.

With strong reservations on the new initiative even at the time when the government was considering it, they echoed their protest loudly across the country. Despite, stiff opposition from the stakeholders, the government has moved ahead with the bill and got it passed in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during this week.

The medical fraternity expressed their concern about the NMC and intensified the protests across the country. In particular, the medical students have been raising serious concerns about their future under the NMC regime.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) and JUDAs have been arguing that the Medical Council of India (MCI) was established in 1956, with a mandate to register and regulate modern medical practice and to improve the quality of medical education in the country.

Though it consists of elected representatives from allopathic doctors and representatives of the States also, now the Centre has dissolved this transparent organisation to bring in a commission consisting of appointed members from non-medical community, who have no idea about medical education.

NMC defines Community Health Providers (CHPs) as those who are granted licence to practice at mid-level and the doctors are shocked to learn that these CHPs would be allowed to prescribe specified medicines independently in a PHC or at other preventive health care systems.

They were also raising serious concerns that many people may have to lose their doctor dream after NMC comes into effect, as it reduces seats available in government quota and increase the seats for the private sector to fill for which they can fix their own fees. It destroys the students' ambition of becoming doctor, said a PG medical student.

NMC also had a provision for conducting a common test for MBBS final year and PG entrance and this 'National Exit Test' (NEXT) shall be implemented within three years of the bill becoming a law.

The students say that it will put unduly stress on them as they are forced to prepare for final MBBS exam to qualify to be a doctor and to procure a PG seat at the same time. It will encourage money spinning mafia running the training centres for this NEXT, they feared.

While MCI has been represented by an allopathic doctor from every State, in new NMC, representation is restricted to five member States on a rotation basis and each State has to wait for a few years to get their turn to be in the NMC body.

The doctors question the motive behind government's eagerness to push the bill ahead and make it an Act by ignoring all objections by medical fraternity in the country. They recalled that it was referred to the standing committee of Parliament also earlier, because of opposition not only from them but from the members of Parliament cutting across party lines.

The IMA had given a bandh call following which the hospitals across the country are closed down for outpatients on July 31. After that, AIIMS students in New Delhi were on indefinite fast and many university students have been expressing solidarity to them with relay fasts.

On Saturday, they held a huge bike rally from SV Medical College to RDO office where they sat down and raised slogans. Speaking to The Hans India IMA Tirupati Branch President Dr G Parthasarathi Reddy has said that, they have been looking for at least some amendments in the NMC like withdrawing the idea of NEXT, increasing the number of members from medical fraternity in the Commission etc., in the best interests of the patients and the future of medical students.