Karnataka doctors' strike enters third day

The doctors' protest against protest against the proposed Karnataka Private Medical Establishments (KPME) Act entered third day on Wednesday.

The protest was started on Monday. The Doctors of Private Hospitals Association and Indian Medical Association (IMA) started protest against the proposed KPME Act.

More than 25,000 doctors from various private medical hospitals and health care assembled in Belagavi (formerly Belgaum).

The protest was staged on the first day of the 10-day winter session of Karnataka Legislature, which began in Belagavi.

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.