Private hospitals anxious over grey areas in new bill

Private hospitals anxious (चिंतित) over grey areas in new bill

KOLKATA: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment (registration, regulation and transparency) Bill 2017 placed at the assembly on Friday could actually be a turning point for private healthcare in Kolkata if it provides a level-playing field to all stake-holders, feel hospital managers and doctors. 

According to AMRI Hospitals CEO Rupak Barua, it is an opportunity to restore trust between hospitals and patients. "The new bill should make things more transparent(पारदर्शी), structured and acceptable to all. Now, there's a body that will hear grievances(शिकायतें) and pass judgements on disputes. Neither patients nor hospitals will have to run around for justice. On the flip side, there could be a tendency to victimize hospitals. This regulatory commission should function impartially. We must remember that the new law applies to the entire private healthcare sector and not just corporate hospitals," said Barua. The initial period could be tough for them, admitted private hospitals. With the spotlight firmly on bills and treatment protocols being viewed with suspicion, sailing through the period would test their endurance skills and quality of service. "Unfortunately, it is due to the high-handedness of a few that the entire sector has come under scrutiny. These handful of establishments have been greedy and inhuman. The good work of the rest has been sadly overshadowed. But this glare on the sector and the new laws are good in a way. They will eventually expose the corrupt and help to remove the popular misconception(गलत धारणाएं)," said a hospital CEO.

But it is the doctors who will now be at the forefront of public ire, feared a section of senior medics. A former West Bengal Medical Council member said: "At least twice in the last one week, patients' kin have questioned my treatment methods even after I explained every move to them. One even threatened to have my prescription vetted by 'Nabanna officials'. It is difficult to function liek this," he said.

Cardiac surgeon Kunal Sarkar agreed. "We feel vulnerable and fear being exploited by both hospital authorities and patient parties. Several of our colleagues have been in and out of jail in the last few months on dubious charges. The events that have unfolded in the last fortnight gives fresh impetus to further scrutiny," said Sarkar.

Hospital authorities were guarded in their response, though. "We respect and honour the bill. Since health is a state chapter, we, as a law-abiding institute, will continue to provide health care to all patients," said CK Birla Hospitals CEO Uttam Bose.

RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences hoped that all stake-holders were consulted before fixing charges of treatment.

Definitions of anxious चिंतित

adjective

experiencing worry, unease, or nervousness, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

she was extremely anxious about her exams

synonyms: worried, concerned, uneasy, apprehensive, fearful, perturbed, troubled, bothered, disturbed, distressed, disquieted, fretful, agitated, nervous, edgy, antsy, unquiet, on edge, tense, overwrought, worked up, keyed up, jumpy, worried sick, with one's stomach in knots, with one's heart in one's mouth, uptight, on tenterhooks, with butterflies in one's stomach, trepidatious, jittery, twitchy, in a dither, in a lather, in a tizzy, het up, strung out, having kittens, spooked, squirrelly

wanting something very much, typically with a feeling of unease.

the company was anxious to avoid any trouble

synonyms: eager, keen, desirous, impatient

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Definitions of grievance शिकायतें

noun

a real or imagined wrong or other cause for complaint or protest, especially unfair treatment.

failure to redress genuine grievances.

synonyms: injustice, wrong, injury, ill, unfairness, affront, insult, indignity