National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020

Rajya Sabha has passed the “National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professional Bill, 2020” by voice vote on March 16, 2021. The Bill seeks to regulate & maintain the standards of education & services by allied & healthcare professionals.

Key Provisions of the Bill

The bill was passed with the aim of fulfilling the long-pending demands for the sector. The bill will create an institutional structure in order to enhance the employability. It will benefit around 8 to 9 lakh existing allied and healthcare professionals. With the implementation of the bill, these professionals will be more ready to cater the global shortage and demand of 1.80 crore professional by 2030 which was predicted by WHO global workforce report. It also provides for regulation and maintenance of the standards of education & services by allied & healthcare professionals. It also provides for the assessment of institutions and maintenance of the central and state register. The bill also seeks to create the system in order to improve the research & development and adoption of the latest scientific advancement.

Allied & Healthcare Professional

Allied and healthcare professions include a huge range of workers to diagnose, evaluate and treat the acute and chronic diseases. These health professions further work to optimise the patient outcomes. They also look after the overall prevention, promotion, wellness and management of the diseases.

Why this bill was tabled?

The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill stated that, advancement in the health sector, changing preferences of the consumers & service providers led to the creation of a new vision of healthcare delivery. This healthcare delivery is following more of the patient-centric approach. It also focuses on moving towards the multi-disciplinary team-based care.

Background

The Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2018, was introduced in Rajya Sabha in 2018. It then referred to the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee. The committee recommended several amendments.  Thus, the bill was withdrawn and a new Bill called the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020 was introduced which incorporated the recommendations made by the panel.

Month: Current Affairs - March, 2021