With the draft amendment bill of the NMC Act, which includes a provision, which allows patients to appeal before the Commission’s Ethics Board, since December 2022, in Limbo, the Commission is repeatedly rejecting the appeal filed by the patients.In the latest rejection of a patient’s appeal on 11 June, the Section Officer of the NMC’s Ethics Section said that “to accept non-Medicose’s appeal against SMC requires amendment of the relevant provision of NMC Act 2019 i.e. any amendment by Parliament and any amendment to the Act will be made only by the Act of Parliament.” Meanwhile, the Ethics Board is completely empty as the process of appointing members is yet to be completed after the tenure of all the members of the Ministry of Health. Therefore, all communications are from EMRB Secretariat.A patient’s right to appeal was not part of the Indian Medical Council Act 1956, which was replaced by NMC 2019. However, on the basis of the 2002 Supreme Court order, a clause was added to the Indian Medical Council (professional conduct, etiquette and morality) regulations. The right to file an appeal to MCI within a period of 60 days from the date of receiving the order passed by the said medical council ”. Thus, patients won the right to appeal without amending the IMC Act 1956, but by presenting a section in morality rules.“Section 30 (3) of the NMC Act speaks of the right to appeal to the right of a medical businessman against the decision of an SMC. It does not clearly restrict or reject the right to appeal to patients. Similarly, the IMC Act has not clearly banned the appeals of patients. Therefore, in addition to morality, the regulation of morality was not given rights. The regulation of 2002 has been correct from the beginning of NMC, “Dr. KV Babu Circumstances and RTI activist argued. The NMC Act states that the rules and regulations made under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 will be implemented and new standards or requirements will be operated until it is specified under this Act or under rules and regulations “. In August 2023, briefly, the morality code was not replaced by the NMC.On August 2, 2023, NMC National Medical Commission Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, were brought in 2023 to change the moral regulation of 2002. However, against the new rules, in front of doctors and heavy protests from the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, which was determined by the generic prescription, NMC placed on 23 August 2023. At the same time, EMRB informed that the Rules of the Indian Medical Council (Vocational Conduct, Ecquratication and Ethics), 2002, were being adopted and made effective “such as the Commission made by the Commission based on the powers inherent under the NMC Act 2019”.In the NMC meeting held on December 12, 2023, it was decided that “all appeals received by EMRB would be entertained”. In the minutes of the meeting, it has been said: “Further, as the boards are not taking action by the State Medical Councils on the complaints filed by the non-Medicos even after the boards are issued a reminder. It was decided by the EMRB to send a communication to the State Medical Councils to complete the process in the deadline. In case of failure by the concerned SMC, EMRB can talk about complaints from SMC and dispose of the same. It is noted by EMRB, and the board will move forward accordingly. ,“This was illegal for the morality board to reject the appeal of the patients as they had the right from the very beginning of the NMC. But in August 2023, morality regulation 2002 to continue rejecting the appeal after a gazette notification on 2002 and the NMC in December 2024 decides the patient’s rights and is to intervene for the Ministry of Health.Dr. for the Ministry of Health on the status of NMC Act Amendment Bill. In response to Babu’s Query, the ministry replied on 30 April this year that the case was “under consideration with the ministry”.
