Rajasthan Right to Health Bill: Consensus reached, private doctors end strike

Private doctors in Rajasthan on Tuesday (April 4) called off their 17-day-long strike. This came after the Ashok Gehlot government in the western state agreed to keep unaided private hospitals out of the ambit of the controversial Right to Health Bill (RHB).

No person should suffer due to lack of treatment, said Gehlot, adding that that was the guiding principle behind the RHB. “It is a matter of happiness that the state government has agreed on the proposal placed before the doctors regarding the Right to Health Bill. With this, Rajasthan will become the first state in the country to implement RTH,” he added.

According to a PTI report, the state government has agreed to exclude private hospitals that have not received land or other benefits from the proposed legislation. A delegation of doctors, including representatives from the Indian Medical Association (IMA), the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association, and the United Private Clinics and Hospitals Association (UPCHAR), signed a memorandum on eight points during talks with the government.

Private hospitals exempted 

The doctors stated that their main demand, which was to keep private hospitals that have not received government benefits such as land or buildings at subsidised rates outside the ambit of the RTH Bill, has been accepted. In a tweet, Gehlot expressed hope that the doctor-patient relationship would remain unchanged in the future. 

Dr Vijay Kapoor, secretary of the Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Society, announced that the private sector has been completely exempted from the RTH Bill.

The protesting doctors had been demanding the withdrawal of the RTH Bill, which was passed by the Rajasthan Assembly on March 28. On Tuesday, a massive rally was taken out by the doctors to oppose the bill. However, after the talks with the government, Dr Kapoor announced that the rally had been converted into a Vijay Rally, and a general body meeting would be held to formally call off the agitation.

Overview of RHB 

According to the Bill, every resident of Rajasthan will have the right to emergency treatment and care “without prepayment” at any “public health institution, healthcare establishment and designated healthcare centre.” The bill aims to provide universal healthcare to the citizens of Rajasthan and to establish a State Health Authority to oversee its implementation. 

The legislation proposal has been widely debated and criticised, with concerns raised over its feasibility and implementation.