Every private medical practitioner will have to obtain a license for his or her ‘single doctor establishment’ from the state health department, which is headed by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
The state health department has recently prepared a draft for the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Rule, 2012, in order to keep a watch on the functions of medical practitioners in their individual establishments across West Bengal. The draft will be discussed in the state cabinet meeting before it is passed in the state legislative assembly.
A single doctor establishment is a medical clinic with just one registered medical practitioner, who is the owner of the clinic. Only dental practitioners have been left out of the equation.
According to the rules of the draft, every private practitioner will have to produce documents, such as academic and professional qualifications; registration certificated issued by the West Bengal Medical Council; and a written undertaking declaring that he or she will follow the provisions of bio-medical wasted management & handling rules before the clinical establishment cell at Swasthya Bhaban, while seeking a license for single doctor establishments or chambers.
Licenses will be issued to the applicants if the clinical establishment cell is satisfied with the documents. Licenses will be issued for a maximum of five years.
“Several thousands of private practitioners conduct medical practice in their individual chambers across the state. But, we don’t have official record on how many doctors practice in single doctor establishments or chambers,” said a senior official at the clinical establishment cell. [Source]
Bhms