IMA calls strike on Aug 8 to protest against NMC Bill

New Delhi: The Indian Medical Association has given a call for a strike on August 8 to protest against certain amendments of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill.

It said the medical students will continue their strike across the country under IMA Medical Students Network. "The call is for all the modern medicine doctors to leave their work place across the sectors at all levels," according to a statement by the IMA. The doctors' body has also called for demonstrations and hunger strikes at its local branches and urged medical students to boycott classes and proclaim solidarity with the IMA.

On Sunday, resident doctors of AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital had called off their strike and resumed duties after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured them that their concerns over the NMC Bill will be duly addressed. The doctors had been demonstrating against certain provisions of the bill since its passage in Rajya Sabha last week. "The NMC Bill 2019 is unacceptable to the medical fraternity in the current format. The community health providers envisaged in the bill is a direct threat to thousands and thousands of poor vulnerable marginalised rural patients.

The health of the nation is at stake. We demand that the government of India engage the modern medical fraternity on meaningful dialogue and address the issue urgently," the IMA said. The NMC Bill provides for setting up of a National Medical Commission in place of the MCI for development and regulation of all aspects of medical education, profession and institutions. Doctors are demanding certain amendments in the bill. According to them, if not amended, the bill will lead to the deterioration of medical education and the degradation of healthcare services.

The fraternity was opposing section 32(1), (2) and (3) of the bill, saying it will encourage quackery by providing the licence to practice modern medicine as community health providers for persons other than those possessing MBBS degrees. The doctors said there was no clarity over the introduction of NEXT and scrapping the NEET-PG. They are also opposing decreasing the percentage of seats under controlled fees structure in private medical colleges and deemed universities from 85 to 50 per cent, reducing the representation of elected members from 75 per cent in MCI to 20 per cent in the National Medical Commission and autonomous boards constituted there-under.