The Tamil Nadu unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has demanded that the state government to prepare a separate Clinical Establishment Act for the state on the lines of West Bengal and Maharashtra rather than implementing the centrally enacted Act.

The association has forwarded a memorandum to the government in this regard, said Dr LP Thangavelu, president of the TN IMA.

According to him, the state government has formed a drafting committee with due representation to IMA and is re-drafting the centrally sponsored Act following their request. He stressed that the state needed an Act specifying more representation to doctors and the centrally enacted Act could not be accepted as it is.

While addressing the members of the Chennai unit of IMA, Dr LP Thangavelu said the hospitals should be regulated by doctors alone, the memorandum included such a demand also. But, to implement the Act properly in every district, the regulating body should contain more number of doctors, so while constituting the body preference should be given to the IMA, he added.

“We don’t need a clinical establishment bill without due representation of doctors for regulating our hospitals. Our hospitals should be regulated by doctors and the state government should consider it while drafting the new bill. We are hopeful that the state government will consider our request.  The government is giving very much support to IMA. We are now having the impression that the state government is preparing a clincial establishment bill for the state. We need adequate representation in it, we will not allow to implement the central act as it is,” said Dr Thangavelu.

Dr M Balasubrahmaniam, the president elect for 2014 and a leader of the state association, said the competent authority to regulate the act in the district levels must be a team of doctors. He said doctors should be governed by doctors only and no one other than doctors cannot be allowed to control the hospitals. IMA wanted the state government to include more doctors in to the body constituted for re-drafting the state act and they included it. According to him, the state government is very much favourable to IMA and agree with its demand on consumer protection act and the present clinical establishment act.

Besides raising demand on CEA, the IMA unit has made another demand that the doctors should be separated from consumer protection act and their clinics and nursing homes in the rural areas should be provided subsidies, concessions and other benefits. They need loans to purchase modern equipment and devices for their hospitals. They should also be exempted from  import duty and service taxes.

With regard to constitution of a new body for the Medical Council of India (MCI), Dr Thangavelu said IMA needs more representation in the soon to be formed elected body of MCI. There are 90,000 doctors practising in the private sector in Tamil Nadu and 10,000 in the union territory of Pondicherry. The representation should be made on the basis of  number of doctors, he demanded.