Till now, Only 11 states ( Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Assam and Haryana) and all Union territories except Delhi have adopted the Clinical Establishments Act, notwithstanding continuous persuasion by the central Health Ministry to the States to adopt it.
As per Article 252 of the Indian Constitution, the Act has to be adopted by all other states.
Uttarakhand could be marked as an inspiration for other states. In Dehradun district alone, 307 hospitals and clinics have registered themselves under the Act.
About the Act:
The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 (“Act”) has been enacted by the Central Government to provide for registration and regulation of all clinical establishments in the country with a view to prescribing the minimum standards of facilities and services provided by them.
The Act makes it mandatory for registration of all clinical establishments, including diagnostic centers and single-doctor clinics across all recognized systems of medicine both in the public and private sector except those run by the defense forces. The registering authority facilitates policy formulation, resource allocation and determines standards of treatment. It can impose fines for non-compliance of the provision of the Act. The Act lays down Standard Treatment Guidelines for common disease conditions, for which a core committee of experts has been formed. Further, the Act makes all clinical establishments to provide medical care and treatment necessary to stabilize any individual who comes or is brought to the clinical establishment in an emergency medical condition ( “emergency medical condition” means a medical condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) of such a nature that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in— (i) placing the health of the individual or, with respect to a pregnant women, the health of the woman or her unborn child, in serious jeopardy; or (ii) serious impairment to bodily functions; or (iii) serious dysfunction of any organ or part of a body ).
Section 11 of the Act mandates that no person shall run a clinical establishment unless it has been duly registered in accordance with the provisions of the Act.
Section 12 of the Act lays down that for the registration and continuation of a Clinical Establishment, it shall fulfill the following conditions, among other things:
- the minimum standards of facilities and services
- the minimum requirement of personnel
- provisions for maintenance of records and reporting
- such other conditions as may be prescribed.
Implementation of this Act will result in systematized clinical establishments, well equipped with all the basic standard of medical care.
Click here for the notified copy of the Act.
