<p>The go-ahead came after the Centre told the HC that it has approved the course and Medical Council of India(MCI) would prepare a syllabus for the course soon.<br /><br />"It is better to be treated by a doctor than a quack", said a division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan and gave the nod to the Ministry of Health to go ahead with introduction of new course-Bacholar of Rural Health Care for three years.<br /><br />The Centre's counsel submitted before the bench that to practice in primary health care centres, a person has to qualify the new course and six months internship thereafter. After obtaining an experience of five years, if the person does a bridge course for two years, he will be equivalent to a MBBS doctor.<br /><br />The counsel further submitted that after approval, the government has asked MCI to prepare the syllabus.<br /><br />Meanwhile, MCI informed the Bench that it will prepare the syllabus within two months, after which the court asked the government to issue a notification six weeks thereafter so as to implement the course from next academic year.<br /><br />The Bench was hearing a PIL, filed by one Meenakshi Gautam, through counsel Prashant Bhushan, seeking to decriminalise the practise of medicine by non-MBBS persons.<br /><br />The petitioner sought a direction to the government to introduce a short-term course for training healthcare workers so that shortage of doctors in rural areas could be removed.<br />The Indian Medical Council Act, which provides for one-year imprisonment for practising medicine by non-MBBS persons, should be amended, said the petitioner.<br /><br />According to the Act, only a MBBS qualified person can practice medicine and prescribe a scheduled drug. The Act has obstructed the development of mid-level health practitioners who can deliver family healthcare, the petitioner added.</p>
<p>The go-ahead came after the Centre told the HC that it has approved the course and Medical Council of India(MCI) would prepare a syllabus for the course soon.<br /><br />"It is better to be treated by a doctor than a quack", said a division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan and gave the nod to the Ministry of Health to go ahead with introduction of new course-Bacholar of Rural Health Care for three years.<br /><br />The Centre's counsel submitted before the bench that to practice in primary health care centres, a person has to qualify the new course and six months internship thereafter. After obtaining an experience of five years, if the person does a bridge course for two years, he will be equivalent to a MBBS doctor.<br /><br />The counsel further submitted that after approval, the government has asked MCI to prepare the syllabus.<br /><br />Meanwhile, MCI informed the Bench that it will prepare the syllabus within two months, after which the court asked the government to issue a notification six weeks thereafter so as to implement the course from next academic year.<br /><br />The Bench was hearing a PIL, filed by one Meenakshi Gautam, through counsel Prashant Bhushan, seeking to decriminalise the practise of medicine by non-MBBS persons.<br /><br />The petitioner sought a direction to the government to introduce a short-term course for training healthcare workers so that shortage of doctors in rural areas could be removed.<br />The Indian Medical Council Act, which provides for one-year imprisonment for practising medicine by non-MBBS persons, should be amended, said the petitioner.<br /><br />According to the Act, only a MBBS qualified person can practice medicine and prescribe a scheduled drug. The Act has obstructed the development of mid-level health practitioners who can deliver family healthcare, the petitioner added.</p>