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New CEA for state
Afternoon Despatch & Courier
CITY OPINIONS
Do you think medicos and staffers at public hospitals behave inhumanly with patients the way a doctor has described in his blog? Varsha Ganesh Student No. The staff at public hospitals might be rude, but I don’t think they would slap a pregnant lady or do something similar to that.
Punit Bhavsar Working professional No. This seems difficult to believe. Had this been the situation, public hospitals wouldn’t be crowded with people the way they are today. Suresh Raja Banker No. I have heard of cases where the staff has been rude and cases of assaults are also heard off. But slapping pregnant women or totally refusing treatment is unheard of. Mohit Alva Working professional No. It is hard to believe that such behaviour is meted out to people at public hospitals. Rashmi Iyer Student No. Public hospitals may not be the best places to expect courtesy and chivalry but slapping patients and refusing treatment is hard to believe.
By Shwetha Kannan
I
t looks like the state government’s decision to adopt the Central Clinical Establishment Act (CEA), 2010 might be put on hold for some time, as talks of giving Maharashtra its own CEA are on. Dr. Anil Pachnekar, President, Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra said, “We had a meeting with the Health Minister and other officials on December 3, where the need for a new CEA for the state was discussed, and it has been agreed that the Central CEA will not be applied to Maharashtra.”
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MUMBAI | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013
The decision of applying the Central CEA to Maharashtra had faced opposition by stakeholders like health activists, NGOs and doctors, as it was felt that the Central CEA has a few major drawbacks and would not suit the needs of the people of Maharashtra. The reservations that the medical fraternity and other stake holders had about the Central CEA being directly applied to the State were that the provisions were neither people friendly nor doctor friendly. Explaining why the Central CEA shouldn’t be applied to the state Dr. Pachnekar said, “The provisions are
very stringent. For instance, the Central CEA says that if a general physician gets a cardiac emergency, he should stabilise the patient before referring him to a specialist. Now, if something happened to the patient while a general physician tries to stabilise him, other than being beaten up by the family of the patient, the court of law will also question his decision. This is just one example out of several others that can be cited. This is why we need an act that suits the needs of people of Maharashtra. Also, one has to keep in mind that health is after all a state prerogative.”
Health Minister Suresh Shetty confirmed this development and said, “Yes, this issue has been discussed and a new Central Establishment Act suitable for Maharshtra will be made within the framework of the existing Central Act. The opinion of the law and judiciary department of the state government will be sought. Once the draft is ready, it will be presented before both houses of the legislature.” The draft for a new CEA will be prepared within fifteen days added Dr. Pachnekar.
37,059 street children in Mumbai By A Staff Reporter
T
he Tata Institute of Social Sciences (Center for Criminology and Justice, School of Social Work) in collaboration with Action Aid India released a report entitled ‘Making Street Children Matter: A Census Study” carrying major findings and recommendations by the TISS teams about street children in Mumbai. This report, based on a study conducted between November 2012 and February 2013, with the support of NGOs and the Co-ordination Committee for Vulnerable Children (CCVC) along with TISS students, was released on Tuesday by Varsha Gaikwad, Minister for Women and Child Development and Justice V.M Kanade, Judge, Bombay High Court at the Indian Merchant Chambers Hall in Churchgate. The report states that a total of 36,154 children were found on the streets across 24 wards during the time of enumeration. An additional 905 children were found on railway trains and platforms of the Mumbai suburban rail network. Finally, a total of 37,059 street chil-
dren were enumerated in Mumbai through this census, out of which 70 per cent were boys and thirty per cent were girls. The study further states that 65 per cent of these children lived with their families on the street. Around 24 per cent of those found to be of school going age was illiterate, while only 31 per cent of children between 4 and 6 years of age attended balwadis. Street working children constituted 24.44 per cent. Around 15 per cent of these children appeared to be addicted to drugs including whitener, tobacco, shoe polish and other such substances. 2.5 per cent were identified with disabilities and 25 per cent were unable to eat regular meals due to a lack of funds, dependence on others for food, illness, injury and lifestyle. While half of the street children used paid toilets, 40.2 per cent used public toilets. About 44 per cent of the sample in the survey witnessed verbal, physical or sexual abuse, torture and forced starving while 77.7 per cent of children were unaware of the scope of any assistance from the police, government agencies or NGOs
HONOURED... The Gandhi Global Family (GGF) awarded Mahatma Gandhi Seva Medal to Nirankari Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj for his commitment to society. Pic shows Padma Shri S.P. Verma, vice-president-GGF, presenting a shawl and a memento to Nirankari Baba in New Delhi, recently.
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VASTU TIP OF THE DAY One’s name plate should not face the lift. by Dr. Prem Gupta (9820045774/9930318119, www.drpremgupta.com)
shwetha.kannan@afternoondc.in
DOGS’ DAY OUT.... Participants of the ‘Think Dog’ workshop organised by canine behaviourist Shirin Merchant in Bandra, last weekend.