NMC Bill: IMA Calls Strike On 8 August Against Bill

Doctors and medical students raise slogans during a protest against the passage of National Medical Commission Bill outside AIIMS in New Delhi on Saturday, 3 August. 

(Photo: PTI)

While resident doctors of AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital called off their strike on Sunday, 5 August, The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has given a call for withdrawal of services in healthcare facilities across the country on 8 August to protest against certain provisions of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill.

The IMA said the core concern of the medical fraternity has been left unaddressed in the NMC Bill.

“The call is for all the modern medicine doctors to leave their work place across the sectors at all levels on August 8 from 6 AM to 6 AM (next day),” it said, adding that medical students under IMA- Medical Student Network will continue their strike across the country.

The decision was taken at an emergency Extended Action Committee meeting convened at the IMA headquarters on Monday.

The doctors' body has also called for demonstrations and hunger strikes at its local branches and urged medical students to boycott classes and proclaim solidarity with the IMA.

Members of the AIIMS Students' Union staged a protest in front of the institute and boycotted all academic activities on Monday.

On Sunday, resident doctors of AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital had called off their strike and resumed duties after Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan assured them that their concerns over the NMC Bill will be duly addressed.

‘NMC Bill is a Big Change in the Field of Medical Education’: Harsh Vardhan

Vardhan met the representatives of resident doctors associations at his residence on Sunday and said that he cleared their doubts and queries related to the NMC Bill.

"Met the delegation of AIIMS RDA at my residence and reiterated that National Medical Commission Bill is a big change in the field of medical education which will prove to be a blessing in better health services to 130 crore people," he tweeted.

In another tweet, the Union minister said, "Besides AIIMS RDA, also met SJDDELHI RDA delegation and removed their misconceptions regarding NMC Bill. Hope the agitating doctors, in view of problems faced by the patients and national interest, end their protest."

The doctors boycotted work and had been demonstrating against certain provisions of the Bill since its passage in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

On Saturday, the AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital authorities had threatened punitive action against the protesting doctors as they intensified their agitation and police had to be deployed around the campuses to control the situation.

Following the Health Ministry's directive, administrators of the Centre-run AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital had on Saturday issued memorandums to their resident doctors to resume work at their respective departments and warned them of punitive action, such as termination of service, if they did not resume duty immediately.

What’s the NMC Bill and Why is It Being Met With Protests?

The NMC Bill provides for setting up of a National Medical Commission in place of the MCI for development and regulation of all aspects of medical education, profession and institutions.

Doctors are demanding certain amendments in the Bill. According to them, if not amended, the Bill will lead to deterioration of medical education and degradation of healthcare services.

The fraternity was opposing section 32(1), (2) and (3) of the Bill, saying it will encourage quackery by providing licence to practice modern medicine as community health providers for persons other than those possessing MBBS degrees.

The doctors said there was no clarity over the introduction of NEXT and scrapping the NEET-PG.

They are also opposing decreasing the percentage of seats under controlled fees structure in private medical colleges and deemed universities from 85 to 50 percent, reducing the representation of elected members from 75 percent in MCI to 20 percent in the National Medical Commission and autonomous boards constituted there-under.