Plea In Supreme Court Seeks Implementation Of Provisions Of National Commission For Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021

"Once the Act is implemented, there will be no nomenclature of RMP/PMP/IRHP or unqualified medical practitioners as these category persons, who register themselves under Section 38 of the Act are termed as Community Healthcare Providers with specific job description," petition states.

Preferred by Citizen Force Foundation For Citizens ("Foundation") the petition states that the Act seeks to achieve the weaning out of quackery while prescribing the minimum standards to allied and healthcare institutions and professionals.

Emphasising on Section 20 read with Section 38 of the Act which deals with the Constitution of Interim Commission and registration of persons practising as allied health professionals prior to coming into force of the Act, the petitioners have prayed for expediting the implementation of the said provisions.

To further substantiate their contention, it has been averred that Section 38 of the act would enable the persons practising as allied health professionals to get provisional registration in the relevant recognized category of allied healthcare profession so that these RMPs/IRHPs, who were also aimed at in this Act, will be within their permissible limits as set out by some States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal etc.

To ensure that there is no further progression in the number of unqualified allied and healthcare professionals in healthcare sector, the Foundation has also sought for issuance of directions to the Centre to arrange a mechanism till the regulations are framed u/s 66 of the Act with regard to the provisional registration of persons offering services specified in Schedule to the Act.

Arguing that the provisions of the Act regulate 80% of persons connected with or related to safety of patients in the present state of treatment given by specialist doctors depending on the battery of diagnostic and other test reports being given by majority of the allied and healthcare professionals covered under this Act, 2021, the Foundation has also sought for issuance of directions to monitor the progress of operationalisation of the provisions of the Act.

The writ petition has been filed by Advocate Ramesh Allanki through Advocate on Record Aruna Gupta

Case Title: Citizen Force Foundation For Citizens & Anr v Union of India