22,000 Karnataka doctors on strike from tomorrow over Medical Bill changes

Over six-hundred private clinics will be closed from tomorrow, as 22,000 doctors will go on strike to press for their demands, said the body of the private doctors on Wednesday.

Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association President Dr C. Jayanna said, "From tomorrow, all 600 private hospitals clinics and 22000 doctors will go on strike. Even all outdoor patients department (OPDs) will be closed till Karnataka government does accept our four demands."

The private doctors are against the Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (Amendment) Bill. They are pressing for dropping the contentious four provisions in the Bill or implementing the Vikramjit Sen committee report.

The Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007 was passed with the aim of regulating private sector medical establishments. The Act mandates registration of all private medical establishments, charts out the obligations like maintaining records, prescribes minimum standards of facilities and services provided in the private medical establishment and mandates displaying rates of various procedures.

But the Act has no teeth, say health activists. The government is now trying to strengthen the law to include prices caps for medical treatments and procedures and to strengthen grievance redressal systems.