Mandatory Medical Care
for Victims of
Road Accidents and Pregnant Women
Road Accidents and Pregnant Women
‘Health’ is a state
subject and it is primarily the responsibility of the State Governments to
issue any directive in this regard. However, this Ministry has circulated
guidelines for referral of patients in emergency vide this Ministry’s letter
C.18018/12/2-14-H dated 31.7.2014 to All States/UTs and various Central
Government-Hospitals.
In addition, the
Central Government has enacted the Clinical Establishments (Registration and
Regulation) Act, 2010 and the Sub-section (2) of Section 12 of this Act
stipulates that the clinical establishments shall undertake to provide within
the staff and facilities available, such medical examination and treatment as
required to stabilize the “emergency medical condition” of any individual who
comes or is brought to such clinical establishments. “Emergency medical
condition” has been stipulated in the Act as a medical condition manifesting
itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) of such
a nature that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be
expected to result in –
(i) Placing the health
of the individual or, with respect to a pregnant women, the health of the women
or her unborn child, in serious jeopardy; or
(ii) Serious
impairment to bodily function; or
(iii) Serious
dysfunction of any organ or part of a body;
This Act is applicable
in Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and all Union Territories (except
Delhi).
The Medical Council of
India (MCI) has informed that it has always supported the Government proposal
for providing primary medical treatment to Road accidents victims and women in
labour without delay.
The Health Minister,
Shri J P Nadda stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha here today.
Source : www.gservants.com