Doctors oppose GO 465 giving powers to RMPs, PMPs

Vizianagaram: The recent GO released by the government is causing several doubts among physicians (MBBS and other doctors). But at the same time, the private medical practitioners, who are working, especially in rural areas, are happy.
Even now, the villagers depend upon the private and registered medical practitioners for their ailments. The RMPs and PMPs, who have worked with some hospitals, nursing homes are acquiring some medical knowledge and becoming doctors in rural areas.

As per the norms of the Medical Council of India, persons without a proper degree like MBBS, BHMS, BAMS are not allowed to treat the patients and if anybody was found, he would be punished. But due to the scarcity of qualified doctors in the country, most of the population was depending up on such private practitioners.

The study revealed that the density of all doctors, allopathic, ayurvedic, homoeopathic and unani at the national-level was 80 doctors per one lakh population compared to 130 in China and doctor patient ratio in India is 1:1,700.

Now, the government of Andhra Pradesh has noticed the seriousness in the sector and proposed to give a proper training to persons working as RMPs and PMPs in rural areas and award them certificates too. With these certificates, the RMPs can practice without fear. But the GO No.465 issued by the state government regarding this issue become controversial among the qualified doctors.

Some qualified doctors had taken the GO to the Union Government and JP Nadda, Union Health Minister, and he wrote a letter to the government of Andhra Pradesh to keep vigilance on the medical practitioners who were practising without qualification and training.

Dr P Shyam Sundar, general secretary of Andhra Pradesh Government Doctors Association, said, “The GO is completely unethical. How can a normal graduate understand the medical terminology and treat people.”

He said that even after five years of medical education in MBBS, BHMS, BAMS, the medical graduates were struggling to understand the human body. But how the RMP, PMP can treat the patients in a better way, he wondered.

B Sankara Rao, a rural medical practitioner in Komarada mandal, said: “Though we are not qualified, we have been in the profession for the past few years and treating the public. We only provide first aid for wounds and give some tablets for fever and body pains,” he said.