Rajasthan 'Right To Health' Protest: Deadlock Between Government And Doctors Ends; Details Here

The 16-day protest against the Right To Health Bill passed on 21 March by the Rajasthan assembly finally seems to have come to an end after an agreement was reached between the doctors and the government representatives.

The eight-point agreement reached between the government and the doctors saw the government conceding many of the doctors’ demands, including the demand that the new law shall not be applicable to many private hospitals.

Midnight meeting with the government ends the deadlock

A six-member delegation of doctors led by the Secretary of Private hospitals and Nursing Home Society, Vijay Kapoor, met the Chief Secretary of the state Usha Sharma from 2 am to 5 am on Tuesday, as per reports.

According to the agreement reached with the government, the law will not be applicable to private hospitals established without taking any facilities from the government in form of land. It will also not be applicable to multi-specialty private hospitals having less than 50 beds.

It will be applicable to private medical college hospitals, hospitals established on PPP mode, hospitals established by taking land from the government for free or at subsidised rates, and hospitals run by trusts.

The government also agreed to withdraw police cases and other cases against the protesters. It also agreed to establish a single-window system for licenses and other approvals for hospitals.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot took to Twitter to announce the end of the protest.

While the government would consider it a big win ahead of upcoming polls, it seems the bill only increases the incentive for private hospitals to reduce the bed strength and keep it below 50 in order to keep themselves outside the purview of the law.