What goes on behind the stage is often missed out on or forgotten amidst the limelight of that
which takes the main stage. Not only does this lead to loss of critical importance that the backstage
deserves, but also causes skipping of required standards, quality control and qualifications of
associated resources.
This is exactly what had been happening within the medical fraternity as well! Anyone apart from
the doctors and nurses, are, generally speaking, not covered within the medical or nursing council.
When I say anyone, believe me, I mean a plethora of allied workers who you encounter at the front
line, often before or without seeing the actual doctors. This includes the X-ray technicians, the lab-
technicians or even the technicians of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). None of these allied members
are covered under any medical council and therefore, have no umbrella of regulations or rights
over them. If you were thinking that is not such a big deal, I will have you know that in the entire
medical sector, there are over hundred such categories of people who are unregulated,
unmonitored, and practically hold the status of your health parameters in their hands.
If this did bother you in the past, you will be happy to know about the monumental step taking by
the Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, brining all the allied and
health care professionals under the radar by the Allied and Health Care Professional Bill, 2018.
What the bill really does is provide a standard and structure to the regulations, education, training
and monitoring of the several allied wings of the medical profession. regulation and standardisation
of education and services by allied and healthcare professionals.It provides for setting up of an
Allied and Healthcare Council of India and corresponding State Allied and Healthcare Councils,
that will bring all professionals of the health care sector under one roof of supervision and
facilitation, thus allowing which will play the role of a standard-setter and facilitator for professions
of Allied and Healthcare.
This is a great achievement, both for the medical sector, as well as for the common masses, both
in terms of quality control and skill development, as well as in terms of opportunities for a skilled
profession. All allied and health care professional institutes will be given recognition and
standardisation as per this bill, and will enable monitoring over entry and exit level examinations as
well.
However, what does raise an eyebrow is about the implementation of the said bill. It is not a well
kept secret that every once in a while, the authorities turn a blind eye towards the malpractices and
slacking standards of all programs. Healthcare, unfortunately, is no exception. Whether or not
passing the bill will ensure actual regulation over the appointment and functioning of the health
care professionals is something we will have to wait and watch for. With the scale of government
and private parties in the entire health sector involved, it will be no easy feat to first all, bring all
players under the observation radar, and then to ensure that everything happens as expected, no
just on paper but on ground. While I am excited and relieved to see the government’s attention on
such a critical aspect of governance, I am under no illusion that this bill must have upset many,
high and low on the power ladder, and knowing what works in India, it will be a hard battle to fight,
if the government really intends to bring about a constructive change in the medical infrastructure.
Here’s hoping for the best!