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Bill to monitor private hospitals

Bangalore, DHNS:

The Bill proposes to make registration of all private medical establishments - both existing and new - compulsory. It also seeks to imprison up to three years and fine up to Rs 10,000 those running establishments without registration.

The State government on Thursday tabled the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Bill, 2007 in the Legislative Assembly, proposing stringent norms to regulate private hospitals, nursing and other medical establishments.

The Bill proposes to make registration of all private medical establishments - both existing and new - compulsory. It also seeks to imprison up to three years and fine up to Rs 10,000 those running establishments without registration. For violating provisions, imprisonment up to six months and a fine up to Rs 2,000, and for subsequent violations, imprisonment up to one year and fine up to Rs 5,000 has been prescribed.



First-aid obligatory

The Bill, tabled by Health and Family Welfare Minister R Ashok, proposes to make it obligatory for all establishments to provide first-aid and take life-saving or stabilising emergency measures in all medico-legal cases - victims of road accidents, accidental and induced burns or poisoning or criminal assaults.

Maintenance of clinical records relating to patients under its care in a manner to be prescribed has been made compulsory. All records would be open for inspection by authorised persons.

Every person or his family members would be entitled to a copy of the clinical record - gist of medical observations, treatment, test, investigation, advice and diagnostic opinion - pertaining to himself on payment of appropriate charges.

However, such information can be denied if the treatment or test was conducted on the direction of a public authority and where the report, if made available, is likely to cause injury to the person or his family members.



Inspection, sealing

The premises of the doctors,, including equipment, records, register, articles or documents would be open to inspection by authorised persons. A provision has also been made for seizing these materials for examination and analysis.

However, the residential accommodation of persons running private medical institutions cannot be entered into and searched by authorised persons except on obtaining a search warrant issued by a magistrate.