Health bill gets nod

Helps regulation of clinical establishments

New Delhi: Health Minister Satyendar Jain has given nod to his department to finalise the Delhi Health Bill and it is likely to be presented in the AAP cabinet by January 2019, a senior official said on Thursday.

The bill, once implemented, will help regulate clinical establishments and pathological laboratories and in the national capital.

"The Minister has given approval to the Bill, which will be presented in the cabinet in January. Once the bill is implemented, it will help regulate clinical establishments in Delhi," the official said.

The bill, drafted by a committee, was sent to the Delhi health secretary for approval. After being finalised, it was sent to the Minister for confirmation, sources said.

The committee, in its draft, has also defined emergency care services for all hospitals and nursing homes.

Incidentally, the Delhi High Court recently had sought response of the Centre and the AAP government on a public interest litigation (PIL) plea, claiming that the law (Clinical Establishment Act, 2010) for registration and regulation of all clinical establishments has not been implemented in the city despite coming into force in 2012.

The petition, by a Delhi-based woman, claimed that the Act prescribes minimum standard of facilities and services to be provided to patients.

"The Act makes it mandatory for registration of all clinical establishments, including diagnostic centres and single-doctor clinics, across all recognised systems of medicine both in the public and the private sector, except those run by the armed forces," the plea, filed through advocates Sija Nair Pal and Deepak Kumar Singh, said.

It claimed that non-implementation of the law has led to instances of "gross medical negligence, malpractices and negligent attitude" of clinical establishments in Delhi.