The People for Economical and Effective Medicare (PEEM), a voluntary health promotion organisation, has demanded that the government withdraw GO Ms 90 seeking government medical colleges, hospitals and primary health centres to function as registered societies, taking healthcare out of government control.

The GO dated April 17, 2003, states that government hospitals, medical colleges, and health institutions will be administered by Hospital Development Societies and will function like registered societies under the Societies Act and not as government institutions.

At a press conference here on Friday, Dr PVR Bhaskar Rao, Chairman, PEEM, said that the only place where the poor people could receive free treatment was the government hospital. However, if the GO was implemented, treatment for the poor would also become unaffordable, as all the hospitals would levy user charges on the patients.

Dr Bhaskar Rao said the government had made a similar effort in 1997 when it issued GO Ms No 283, but had to withdraw it when it was challenged in the High Court by PEEM.

Dr Rao said while issuing the present GO, the government had stated that its experience in the last two years, and the feedback it got from various quarters had forced it to take this decision. It also claimed that this decision was intended towards efficient functioning and effective delivery of healthcare services.

“If the government is sincere and honest in what it is claiming, it should disclose what is that so-called experience and the feedback it had in the last two years,” Dr Rao said.

He said this GO was issued to fulfill the conditionalities of the World Bank which had said that private providers should be allowed to participate in various activities of health institutions. This move would ultimately lead to the take-over of all government medical colleges and hospitals by the corporate sector which would affect the economically weaker sections of the society.

Dr Rao said though conditions in public hospitals were bad, the government could not wash its hands off the responsibilities. In fact, the government had deliberately allowed the conditions in the hospitals to deteriorate. The GO, if implemented, would turn the doctors into hamalis as the proposed Hospital Development Societies would be permitted to recruit doctors on contract basis and even on daily basis. Terming this move as unconstitutional, he said PEEM would seek the support of leaders of various political parties, medical professionals and the employees of government hospitals to force the government to withdraw the controversial GO.