EW DELHI: Rural areas reeling under chronic shortage of doctors may soon get trained B.Sc. (Community Health) graduates practicing modern medicine to treat common diseases.
The Delhi High Court on Friday directed Centre and Medical Council of India to implement its orders permitting these graduates to treat rural poor in six months or face contempt charges. "In the opinion of this Court, once the Central Government has undertaken to introduce the B.Sc. (Community Health) course, it must take the lead and give the course a firm legal footing and introduce it in institutions and universities run by the Central Government and also provide help to the State Governments to introduce the same. Also, once the syllabi, curriculum and course have been finalised and the graduate has been identified to treat a range of common diseases that are easily treatable at the primary level, there is no reason why he/she should not be allowed to practice independently," the HC observed.
The court was hearing a contempt plea against failure of the Centre to roll out the course despite undertaking given to it in 2010. Then, HC had given MCI two months' time to finalize the curriculum of the three and a half year Primary Healthcare Practitioner Course. While the course ought to have been introduced by March, 2011 it hasn't even been notified yet, advocate Prashant Bhushan informed the court.
He pointed out that there is chronic shortage of doctors due to the fact that academic courses like MBBS had been made a minimum requirement for a person to practice modern medicine and prescribe scheduled drugs. However, most of the common diseases and ailments could be treated at the primary level and did not require the attention of specialized doctors, the petitioners added.
HC agreed, saying that intent and purpose of the undertakings given in 2010 was to fill the vacuum created by absence of doctors in rural areas, by permitting Bachelors of Rural Health Sciences to practice modern medicine to treat common diseases that are easily treatable at the primary level.
"Government of India by not facilitating the B.Sc. (Community Health) students to practice modern medicine, has defeated the whole object of the exercise undertaken by this Court and hence violated the order of the Division Bench," the HC noted.
The Delhi High Court on Friday directed Centre and Medical Council of India to implement its orders permitting these graduates to treat rural poor in six months or face contempt charges. "In the opinion of this Court, once the Central Government has undertaken to introduce the B.Sc. (Community Health) course, it must take the lead and give the course a firm legal footing and introduce it in institutions and universities run by the Central Government and also provide help to the State Governments to introduce the same. Also, once the syllabi, curriculum and course have been finalised and the graduate has been identified to treat a range of common diseases that are easily treatable at the primary level, there is no reason why he/she should not be allowed to practice independently," the HC observed.
The court was hearing a contempt plea against failure of the Centre to roll out the course despite undertaking given to it in 2010. Then, HC had given MCI two months' time to finalize the curriculum of the three and a half year Primary Healthcare Practitioner Course. While the course ought to have been introduced by March, 2011 it hasn't even been notified yet, advocate Prashant Bhushan informed the court.
He pointed out that there is chronic shortage of doctors due to the fact that academic courses like MBBS had been made a minimum requirement for a person to practice modern medicine and prescribe scheduled drugs. However, most of the common diseases and ailments could be treated at the primary level and did not require the attention of specialized doctors, the petitioners added.
HC agreed, saying that intent and purpose of the undertakings given in 2010 was to fill the vacuum created by absence of doctors in rural areas, by permitting Bachelors of Rural Health Sciences to practice modern medicine to treat common diseases that are easily treatable at the primary level.
"Government of India by not facilitating the B.Sc. (Community Health) students to practice modern medicine, has defeated the whole object of the exercise undertaken by this Court and hence violated the order of the Division Bench," the HC noted.
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