Doctors, Path Labs asked to Register, but TMC yet to Fine Tune System

20th May, 2018

THANE : The callous approach of the municipal health department was once again highlighted after it was revealed that the civic team had not even bothered to prepare any format before coercing doctors and pathology labs in the city to apply for registration.

The serious lapse was exposed in the general body meeting of the Thane Corporation on Friday after the elected representatives questioned the administration over the status of the registrations of medical facilities in the city.

A red-faced department then informed the House that it had not even ready with the basic application forms to be filled in by the applicants following which the municipal administration ordered an internal enquiry into the blunder.

The health department led by Dr Ram T Kendre had issued directives to several pathology labs operating in the city to register themselves along with identifying the medical qualifications of those associated with it. Around 50 such labs are believed to be operating by less qualified staff, said a survey by a group of professionals from Thane leading the administration to get into panic moade and come up with a new registration plan. The administration, based on a Supreme Court guidelines and subsequent orders of the human rights commission, had also asked the doctors to submit the details latest by April end else start facing action.

The idea was to identify and weed out quacks operating within the city limits, said officials. A penalty of Rs 50 per day was to be slapped on those units that failed to defy the orders.

However, after the administration informed the house that the department hadn’t even printed application forms even while it had twice publicized the notice warning of action against those who defied the norms, it led to a furore in the House that had already presented several lapses in the past by the unit.

Additional municipal commissioner Sunil Chavan later tried to pacify the corporators by assuring an internal enquiry into the matter.

Meanwhile, the medical fraternity that was already opposed to this fresh tagging, expressed its ire over the apathy of the corporation questioning the process saying that a one-time registration with the state medical council already made them eligible for operating anywhere in Maharashtra. “The administration has been prompt in asking us to register ourselves with them. They also warned of penal action but when our representatives went there, we were told that the basic application forms weren’t even printed. This is absurd and there has to be some responsibility fixed over this unnecessary panic caused,” said a representative of the medical fraternity in the lake city.

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com