Luwang scans Manipur hospitals

IMPHAL, March 2: Manipur health and family welfare minister Nimaichand Luwang has warned of a crackdown on private hospitals and medical institutions which do not conform to official specifications in terms of infrastructure and quality of service. Luwang, a doctor by profession, said at a function here yesterday that a medical college could be established only in accordance with the rules framed by the Medical Council of India. He expressed displeasure over the fact that some medical institutions in the state were violating these rules. Sources said a few medical and nursing colleges had been illegally established in the state. The W. Nipamacha Singh government overlooked the problem, but the People's Front government is doing the reverse, they said. Luwang is reportedly contemplating closing down all such institutions unless the Medical Council of India certifies these as legal. The number of private hospitals and nursing homes in this capital town has increased manifold over the past few years. Most of these hospitals do not have the infrastructure required to provide the best possible treatment to patients. The doctors who examine patients in these institutions are mostly attached to government hospitals. Luwang said private hospitals flouting the Manipur Nursing Act would face stringent steps. He said the health department could not allow private hospitals without proper infrastructure to operate. In a statement last year, Governor Ved Marwah expressed unhappiness over government surgeons performing operations in private hospitals. A doctor posted at the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences was later pulled up when a patient he had operated upon at a private hospital died. The case was taken up by the Manipur Human Rights Commission. Luwang said yesterday that apart from salaries, government doctors were being paid non-practising allowances. "But many doctors treat patients privately despite being paid non-practising allowances. This is illegal," he added. The health minister said he would try to stop the trend of government doctors practising in private hospitals. "Those who still want to treat patients privately should not accept non-practising allowances," he said. On scarcity of specialists in the hill districts of the state, Luwang said the new government would take steps to ensure that each hill district had at least one specialist. He said specialists could be sent to the hill districts "on rotation", with each posting lasting three months. "I urge doctors not to shirk responsibility and avoid working in the remote areas," he added. The health minister disclosed that the Japanese government had agreed to construct a hospital in Manipur and sanctioned Rs 4 crore for the purpose. However, construction is yet to begin as the previous state government failed to select a proper site for the hospital. Luwang said he would do the needful soon.