Jaipur : Private doctors in Rajasthan have called off their 17-day strike after the state government agreed to their demands regarding the Right to Health Bill. The bill allows people to receive emergency treatment at government and designated private hospitals without payment, which will be reimbursed by the government. In a meeting with the government, doctors agreed to exempt private hospitals that have not taken subsidies from the government from the bill’s ambit. Private multi-speciality hospitals with less than 50 beds will also be excluded from the law in its first phase.
The Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Society (PHNHS) secretary, Dr Vijay Kapoor, said that private hospitals that have not availed land at subsidized rates or other benefits from the government have been exempted from the new law. He further stated that they have converted their rally into a ‘Vijay Rally’ after reaching an agreement with the government.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed his happiness over the development, saying that Rajasthan will become the first state in the country to implement the Right to Health law. The agreement also includes regularizing hospitals running on the quota model, which will provide relaxation in the rules for buildings running in residential premises.
The police and other cases registered during the agitation will also be withdrawn, according to the agreement. The government will consider a ‘single window system’ for issuing licenses and other approvals to private hospitals. Future changes in the rules related to the Right to Health law will also be done in consultation with the representatives of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Chief Minister Gehlot expressed hope that government and private hospitals will work together to make schemes like the Right to Health, Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme, and RGHS successful. He also expressed confidence that the way private and government hospitals have managed COVID-19 will present the “Rajasthan Model of Public Health”.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh praised the development in Rajasthan, saying that the Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme of the Rajasthan government is a model for the whole country. He further stated that the Right to Health law is another transformative step, making Rajasthan an example for the country.
The doctors’ bodies, including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the United Private Clinics and Hospitals Association of Rajasthan (UPCHAR), and PHNHS, held talks with the government and signed a memorandum on eight points. The agreement states that the Right to Health law will be applicable to all private medical colleges and hospitals, hospitals operating on the public-private partnership (PPP) model, hospitals with land allotment at free or subsidized rates, and hospitals run by trusts that have received plots at subsidized rates.
The agreement was made after a delegation of doctors held talks with the government and signed a memorandum on eight points. The doctors’ major demand that private hospitals that have not taken any benefit from the government in the form of land or buildings at subsidized rates should be kept outside the ambit of the RTH Bill has been accepted.
The government’s decision to exempt private hospitals that have not taken subsidies from the Right to Health law’s ambit is seen as a significant step in resolving the doctors’ strike. The agreement to regularize hospitals running on the quota model is also expected to provide relief to private hospitals running in residential areas.
The Right to Health law is expected to have far-reaching implications on private healthcare in the state. The law’s implementation is expected to bring about a significant change in the way private hospitals function, ensuring that they provide quality healthcare to all sections of society.
The doctors’ strike had caused inconvenience to patients in the state, and the government had to make alternative arrangements for their treatment. The resolution of the strike is expected to provide relief to patients and ensure the smooth functioning of private hospitals in the state.
The Rajasthan government’s decision to exempt private hospitals