Training Workshop on the Regulation of the Private Health sector for Medical Practitioners

As part of the current study CEHAT along with The Association of Medical Consultants (AMC), Bombay Nursing Home Owners Association come together to offer awareness workshops on the regulation of the private sector. The main objective of the workshops is to develop an understanding amongst the participants about the minimum standards of care; to create awareness about the Bombay Nursing Home Regulation Act and the other legislation and to initiate a dialogue amongst the participants about the need for self regulation of the private health sector.The first training workshop was at Mumbai. About 19 participants attended the training workshop. In order ensure participation of doctors CEHAT collaborated with the Indian Medical Association(IMA). IMA organises most of its own workshops/meetings for various regions. CEHAT decided to follow the same pattern and conducted regional workshops in Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur and Aurangabad. About 128 doctors participated in these workshops.

The broad areas covered in the training were laws governing the private health care, accreditation, issues of patient’s rights and others.

Suggestions from the Workshops:

• There was consensus on issues of emergency care, patient’s rights, however, there were issues raised by doctors regarding the definition of emergency services, shortage of qualified staff and registration of death and birth within 24 hours.
• Agreed that there was a need to have a law for regulating the nursing homes, that basic standards of care need to be defined and that decentralisation was required with respect to registration and other paper work.
• The participant doctors endorsed Patients Rights but also demanded that assault on doctors be made a non-bailable offense which they have now achieved.
• There was overriding concern about the non availability of nurses and that it was the biggest problem for them if the rules were to be strictly implemented.
• The Workshops were useful and CEHAT should organise such similar workshops in other places.