Clinical Establishments Bill 2007 to be cleared s

If all goes well, finally access to quality medical service will be available. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is hoping the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Bill, 2007, will be cleared in few months’ time. The proposed legislation will provide for both registration and regulation of clinical establishments in India, and also prescription of minimum standards for medical facilities and services.
For this, the bill proposes a National Council, which will not just formulate standards for the segment and classify clinical establishments, but also compile, maintain and update their national register.  A senior official from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare informed that they have done lot of groundwork (on the council), with the expectation that the bill would be passed soon. They have started preliminary work on the body, which is currently purely technical in nature. Also, many states have responded positively to the bill.
However, the Bill will be applicable only for those states, which request for it, considering health is a state subject. Currently, each state has its own regulatory mechanism for hospitals. If the new bill gets passed, it will ensure a uniform countrywide body for regulation of hospitals in the form of the National Council.
Till the new standards are in place, NABH accreditation is the only national mark of assurance of a hospital’s quality. Other than hospitals, nursing homes and blood banks can also apply for voluntary accreditation. To popularise the initiative among medical establishments and consumers, the board holds awareness programmes in cities and in districts, through the year.