The private doctors in Rajasthan protesting against the Right to Health Bill (RTH) are likely to call off their fortnight-long stir as the Private Doctors’ Associations affiliated to the Indian Medical Association (IMA) as the state government has accepted their eight-point charter of demands.

An agreement to this effect was reached at a meeting of the protesting doctors with the state Chief Secretary Usha Sharma here late last night.

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Private hospitals’ medical fraternities, including para-medical staff, are on strike for the last 15 days causing immense inconvenience to patients in the state with all medical services including emergency, OPD, and IPD services being paralysed. They even denied treatment to the beneficiaries of RGHS and CM Chiranjivi Health Scheme despite their empanelment with the state government.

“The strike will most likely be called off after holding today’s Maha Rally of doctors and para-medical staff members who have come from the adjoining states of Haryana, Delhi, Punjab to show off their strength,” IMA-Rajasthan President Dr Sunil Chug, who circulated copies of the MoU with the state government on his WhatsApp group, read.

In his Tweet, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed his happiness over the joint agreement with the private hospitals. He said, “Rajasthan will be the first in the country to implement RTH.”

“I hope that patients-doctors’ relationship would be the same as before the RTHrr bill,” Gehlot added.

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary of the state Medical Education T Ravikanth (IAS) told SNS that the MoU was signed by a number of heads of private doctors and hospitals’ associations (IMA too) on assurance that their points of interests would be added to the rules of RTH when framed.

“RTH bill would not be withdrawn in any case, the MoU has been clearly defined to the agitating doctors”, Ravikanth said.

Among the terms of the MoU is a provision that says all private hospitals established without availing of any concession from the government in the form of land and building at a subsidised rate shall be excluded from the RTH Act. The government while passing the bill in the assembly on March 21 has also excluded the hospitals having less than 50 beds.

The hospitals covered under the RTH will be: private medical college hospitals, hospitals established on PPP mode, hospitals established after taking land from the government free of cost or on subsidised rates (as per land allotment terms and conditions), hospitals run by trusts, and regularization of hospitals constructed at various places in Rajasthan.

Police and other cases registered during the agitation shall be withdrawn. Single window system for licenses and other approval for hospitals be set up. Fire NOC renewal will be made every five years. And further change in rules if any will be done after consultation with two representatives of IMA.

Earlier in the day, thousands of private medical practitioners affiliated to IMA and Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Society gathered at the SMS hostel ground and started a rally on the state capital’s streets against the RTH, which they said was a symbolic protest after holding the MoU.