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Police uses TS Medicare Act for first time on Global attackers
The Telangana Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Services Institutions Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property Act has remained only on paper in the last four and half years after the formation of Telangana
Hyderabad: The Telangana Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Services Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act has remained only on paper in the last four and half years after the formation of Telangana.
Only after witnessing vandalism and hooliganism at the Global hospital, Lakdikapul, authorities have decided to invoke the Act for the first time in the state.
This obviously has led to a debate on why this Act, under which accused have to undergo stringent punishment including jail term of three years, was not used at all for all these days.
IMA (Indian Medical Association) member and Forensic HoD at Gandhi Hospital Prof Kripal Singh stressed the need to invoke this Act as and when cases of assault on doctors and medical staff occur. It is not correct to wait until major damage to invoke this Law, he said.
"To say in simple terms, an act of a small theft or a robbery can attract a police case. It's not that filing a case will happen only after a dacoity took place. Issuing threats to doctors over phone, holding shirt collar of a doctor, etc, should also be considered as a breach of law.
Likewise, the Act does not specify the quantum of damage so to say," he said. The IMA member felt the implementation part was weak and hence such brazen attacks are being seen on medical fraternity. Once stringent punishments are given to accused in such attacks, it would act as a deterrent for others to commit similar kind of mistakes, Prof Singh felt.
Pressures from different quarters, especially from politicos who are directly and indirectly intervening whenever such incidents are witnessed in their areas has also led authorities to drop invoking this Act, say insiders. The background behind the introduction of this law was attacks seen between 2004 and 2007 on medicos in a few state-run hospitals in the city and ransacking of a private hospital in Karimnagar by patient’s family and relatives and the loss of property was over Rs 2 crore at that time.
Former IMA national coordinator Dr N Appa Rao, who was instrumental in the introduction of this law in 2007-08 during Y S Rajasekhar Reddy regime, said the undivided state of Andhra Pradesh was the first in the country to bring in such an Act to instill confidence in the medical fraternity. Nearly 15 states in the country followed AP's path at that time and brought in similar legislation and the list included Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, etc, he added.
It was named as AP Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage of Property) Act of 2008. The Telangana government through a gazette notification ‘Telangana Adaptation of Laws and Orders, 2016’ adapted the said Act as Telangana Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act 2008.
According to the Act, persons who commit such offences shall be punished with imprisonment for a period of three years and with fine, which may extend to Rs 50,000. The offence is non-bailable and cognizable, and in addition, the offender shall be liable to a penalty of twice the amount of purchase price of medical equipment damaged and loss caused to the property.
Lack of enough awareness about this Act is not the situation either. IMA member Kripal Singh felt that all private hospitals should put up a big display board about this law and stringent punishments it attracts in case of violation. Although some private hospitals have kept this information in notice boards or near reception, it should be displayed with big font so that all visitors to the hospitals get an idea of the law, he said.
Meanwhile, Saifabad ACP C Venugopal Reddy said most of the times the damage is already done by the time police reach the spot. The hospital security and even onlookers should take initiation to stop such attempts before the police reach the place in the nick of time. This mindset of being silent spectators and that the police only should come to stop is unfortunate, he felt.
