“Government has so for fixed fee structure only for private diagnostic centres and left it for both the private diagnostic centres and as well as private nursing home and private hospitals to fix fee structure both for the health counseling and as well as surgical facilities themselves without implementation of any systems of checks and inspections by Health & Medical Education Department”.
Though challenges of regulating private health facilities like Private Diagnostic Centres, Private Nursing Homes and Private Hospitals in Jammu & Kashmir are much bigger than regulating other key public services run by private business houses but unfortunately Health & Medical Education Department has over the period of years taken only half hearted measures to regulate the working of both the Private Diagnostic Centres and as well as Private Nursing Homes and Private Hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir. Though administrative wisdom demands that regulation of private health facilities should have begun with the implementation of a free structure not only at the Private Diagnostic Centres but also at Private Nursing Home and as well as Full Fledged Private Hospitals and ended with the regulation of health facilities at both the Private Nursing Home and as well as Full Fledged Private Hospitals in view of their increasing networks across Jammu & Kashmir, but Government has so for fixed fee structure only for private diagnostic centres and left it for both the private diagnostic centres and as well as private nursing home and private hospitals to fix fee structure both for the health counseling and as well as surgical facilities themselves without implementation of any systems of checks and inspections by Health & Medical Education Department. Though Health & Medical Education Department has in a recent order asked Diagnostic Centres, Laboratories and single doctor clinics to register themselves under the Clinical Establishment Act and the Health Facility Registry) but the Government is yet to enforce such guidelines for Private Nursing Homes and Full Fledged Private Hospitals who are presently randomly imposing counseling fee of Rs 400/- for OPD registrations irrespective of the professional reputation of the doctors and the quality of health facilities they provide to the people. Interestingly both the Private Nursing Homes including one doctor clinics and as well as full fledged Private Hospitals charge people for both the counseling and as well as the surgical facilities at their own whims and wishes as Government is yet to enforce any fee structure for certain health facilities they provide.
“While Fee Fixation Committee For Private Schools has been established to regulate the fee structure of Private Schools in Jammu & Kashmir , no such statutory body has been established to regulate the fee structure and as wells as the quality of health services at both the private nursing homes and as well as the full fledged private hospitals in Jammu & Kashmir keeping in view the fact regulation of health facilities at both the Private Nursing Home and as well as full Fledged Private Hospitals has a direct bearing on accessibility of people to health facilities. Keeping in view the increasing intensity of the spread o critical ailment in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and union territories of the country the wakeup call for Health & Medical Education Department is not only regulation of the counseling and surgical facilities at both the Private Nursing Homes and as well as Private Hospitals but also the regulation of the working of night OPDs besides inspection and audit of the surgical facilities and as well as availability of basic infrastructural facilities at both Private Nursing Homes and as well as Private Hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir”.
Though it is fact that regulation of Private Nursing Homes and as well as full fledged Private Hospitals should begin with fixation of fee structure but it is also a fact that free structure should be commensurate with the quality of facilities Private Nursing Homes and Full Fledged Private Hospitals Provide and as such different Private Nursing Homes and Full Fledged Private Hospitals can have different fee structure. It is in place to mention here while Fee Fixation Committee For Private Schools has been established to regulate the fee structure of Private Schools in Jammu & Kashmir , no such statutory body has been established to regulate the fee structure and as wells as the quality of health services at both the private nursing homes and as well as the full fledged private hospitals in Jammu & Kashmir keeping in view the fact regulation of health facilities at both the Private Nursing Home and as well as full Fledged Private Hospitals has a direct bearing on accessibility of people to health facilities. Keeping in view the increasing intensity of the spread o critical ailment in Jammu & Kashmir like many states and union territories of the country the wakeup call for Health & Medical Education Department is not only regulation of the counseling and surgical facilities at both the Private Nursing Homes and as well as Private Hospitals but also the regulation of the working of night OPDs besides inspection and audit of the surgical facilities and as well as availability of basic infrastructural facilities at both Private Nursing Homes and as well as Private Hospitals across Jammu & Kashmir.
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