VMC puts off move on labs and hospitals

Earlier in the day doctors under the aegis of the Indian Medical Association submitted a memorandum stating that there was no need to have a concurrent law to register private medical establishments as the Gujarat Government was currently framing comprehensive legislation to this effect.

The memorandum addressed to Municipal Commissioner Vilasini Ramachandran stated that in Vadodara, private nursing homes and clinics were registered under the Bombay Nursing Homer Act, 1949 till 1969. However, the procedure was discontinued due to other collateral legislations.

The doctors, led by former Mayor Dr V C Patel, Dr Vijay Shah and Dr Jigeesha Sheth, a councillor, pointed out that private practitioners were already paying professional charges levied by the State Government, so introducing the registration fees would place an additional financial burden on them.

The doctors claimed that under the Constitution, it was the responsibility of the local self government bodies, pollution control boards and district health authorities to regulate generation, collection and transportation of medical waste. They also said that the registration fees being worked out by the VMC were higher than those collected from hotels, restaurants and guest houses.