Indian Medical Association to organise a nationwide Satyagraha against the proposed NMC Bill across its 1700 branches

The ‘IMA Stop NMC Satyagraha’ to be on the occasion of International Tolerance Day

Indian Medical Association, the only representative, national voluntary organisation of Doctors of Modern Scientific System of Medicine will be organising a pan India protest across its 1700 branches tomorrow.  The “IMA Stop NMC Satyagraha” will be held between 11:00 am - 1:00 pm on Wednesday, 16th November 2016 on the occasion of International Tolerance Day.

Addressing a Press Conference today, Dr S S Agarwal, National President, Dr K K Aggarwal, National President (Elect) & Prof (Dr) A Marthanda Pillai, Immediate Past National President, Indian Medical Association said that over 500 Dharnas will be organised across the country on November 16, 2016. The protest in Delhi will take place at Jantar Mantar.

"IMA has been fighting for its six major demands for over two years.  The proposed Dharna in 2015 was postponed on the assurance given by Hon’ble Minister of Health, Shri J P Nadda that these demands will be considered and approved within six weeks.  It has been over a year, and they remain unresolved. We will be organising a nationwide peaceful protest to demand answers", said Dr KK Aggarwal.

The medical fraternity demands a positive response and time-bound action to the following points:

• IMA is against the recently proposed National Medical Commission Bill that demands the dissolution of the Medical Council of India, a move that is undemocratic in nature. It will cripple the functioning of the medical profession by making it completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non-medical administrators. IMA believes that instead, the government must consider introducing amendments to the existing MCI Act to make it transparent, accountable, robust and self-sufficient.
• Incidences of violence against doctors and medical establishments are on the rise. 18 States in the country already have enacted acts & ordinances protecting doctors and their establishments against violence. IMA fails to understand why the Central ​Government cannot bring a Central Act regarding the same. We have so far been only assured that they will write to the other state Governments also to enact similar laws! 
• IMA members provide professional consultation for a nominal fee. General practitioners still provide consultation for less than Rs.200/- Rs.300/-. IMA demands that individual doctor clinics be taken out of the purview of the Clinical Establishment Act. While the Government has accepted most of the points suggested by IMA in relation to the Clinical Establishment Act, IMA urges them to consider this as well.
• IMA is against the enforcement of any penal action on doctors for clerical mistakes, a primary example being that of the PCPNDT Act. IMA instead wants graded action against the erring Doctors/establishments.
• IMA wants the medical profession to be taken out of the purview of the Consumer Protection Act and till that happens, the compensation should not be decided on the income of the patient but the total fee charged. Awarding compensation that runs in crores is unacceptable and instils unnecessary fear in the minds of doctors. The method of compensation followed at present is unjust and differentiates between the poor and the rich. For the same amount of consultation charged, a poor man gets less whereas the rich get more! IMA is not against the compensation method used in clinical trials by the Government. 
• IMA agrees with the views of the Central Government that Non-MBBS & Non-BDS doctors cannot prescribe Scheduled H, H1 & X-Drugs but the same also needs to be enacted and followed by the State Governments through appropriate amendments. The NMC Act if introduced will nullify this clause as it has a provision allowing the registration of non-MBBS doctors to the medical profession.
• IMA demands that the Inter-Ministerial Committee appointed to look into IMA’s demands should not be a recommendatory in nature and should be given powers to implement their suggestions. Or else their suggestions should be resolved the Government of India within a period of six weeks from the date of submission. 
• IMA fails to understand why it takes years to pass amendments given that the Government has powers to bring Ordinances or Special Acts. IMA wants IMMEDIATE SOLUTIONS and the time bound implementation of their demands.