Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Hospital Protection Act - No. 48 of 2008—Tamil Nadu Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions
TAMIL NADU GOVERNMENT GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY
PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY
No. 364] CHENNAI, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2008
Karthigai 17, Thiruvalluvar Aandu–2039
DTP—IV-2 Ex. (364)
Part IV—Section 2
Tamil Nadu Acts and Ordinances
No. 48 of 2008—Tamil Nadu Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions
(Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act
The following Act of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly received the assent of the Governor on the 28th November 2008 and is hereby published for general information:—
ACT No. 48 OF 2008.
An Act to prohibit violence against medicare service persons and damage or loss to property of medicare service institutions and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
WHEREAS, acts of violence causing injury or danger to life of medicare service persons and damage or loss to the property of medicare service institutions are on the increase in the State creating unrest among medicare service persons resulting in total hindrance of such services in the State;
AND WHEREAS, it has become necessary to punish the persons committing violence by making the offence as cognizable and non-bailable and to provide for compensation, for damage or loss caused to the property of medicare service institutions, to be determined by court;
BE it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Tamil Nadu in the Fifty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1. (1) This Act may be called the Tamil Nadu Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2008.
(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 18th day of July 2008.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(1) “medicare service institution” means any institution providing medicare to people which is under the control of the State or the Central Government or local bodies including any private hospital having facilities for treatment of the sick and used for their reception or stay; any private maternity home where women are usually received and accommodated for the purpose of confinement and ante-natal and post-natal care in
connection with child birth or anything connected therewith; and any private nursing home used or intended to be used for the reception and accommodation of persons suffering any sickness, injury or infirmity whether of body or mind, and providing of treatment for nursing or both of them and includes a maternity home or convalescent home;
(2) “medicare service person” in relation to a medicare service institution shall include,—
(a) registered medical practitioners (including a person having provisional registration);
(b) registered nurses;
(c) medical students;
(d) nursing students;
(e) para medical workers;
employed and working in such medicare service institutions;
(3) “property” means any property, movable or immovable or medical equipment or medical machinery owned by or in possession of, or under the control of, any medicare service person or medicare service institution;
(4) “ violence” means activities of causing, any harm, injury or endangering the life or intimidation, obstruction or hindrance to any medicare service person while discharging his duty in the medicare service institution or causing damage or loss to the property.
3. Any person either by himself or as a member or as a leader of a group of persons or organization, commits or attempts to commit or abets or incites the commission of any act of violence shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to ten years and with fine.
4. Any offence committed under section 3, shall be cognizable and non bailable.
5. (1) In addition to the punishment specified in section 3, the person shall be liable to pay compensation for the damage or loss caused to the property, as determined by the court.
(2) If the person has not paid the compensation under sub-section (1), the said sum shall be recovered under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Revenue Recovery Act, 1864 as if it were an arrear of land revenue.
6. No claim for compensation for the damage or loss caused to the property shall be made by the medicare service person or medicare service institution, before any authority, under the Tamil Nadu Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992.
7. Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of, any other law for the time being in force.
8. (1) The Tamil Nadu Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Ordinance, 2008 is hereby repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal, anything done or any action taken under the said Ordinance shall be deemed to have been done or taken under this Act.
(By order of the Governor)
S. DHEENADHAYALAN,
Secretary to Government,
Law Department.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
1,000 surgeries performed at Plastic Surgery Department Stanley hospital in 2008
http://www.hindu.com/2009/03/23/stories/2009032358910500.htm
R. Sujatha
— PHOTO: K.V. SRINIVASAN
On way to recovery: A patient under treatment at the Plastics Surgery Department of Government Stanley Hospital.
R. Sujatha
| “Lack of trained personnel and specialised centres major hurdle in providing medical care across the State” |
On way to recovery: A patient under treatment at the Plastics Surgery Department of Government Stanley Hospital.
CHENNAI: Government Stanley Hospital’s Institute for Research and Rehabilitation of Hand and Department of Plastic Surgery performed 1,000 surgeries in 2008. Though this is a record for the hospital, the institute’s surgeons say that an equal, if not more, number of patients need such medical attention across the State.
But lack of trained personnel and specialised centres are proving to be hurdles.
Substantiating their case for offering such treatment across the State, the surgeons cite the case of G. Dhanalakshmi (27) of Karur, whose right hand was injured in an accident last August.
The accident occurred when her wrist was caught in the winding machine that she was working on. She was treated at a private hospital in Karur but that could not restore the function of her wrist and fingers. The District Collector, to whom she submitted a petition against the owner of the company, recommended her case to Stanley Hospital’s Plastic Surgery Department.
With two children aged 9 and 7 years and a husband who is a construction labourer, she is hard up for money. Her husband cooks and attends to the children when she comes to Chennai for therapy. “Each month the trip costs me Rs.500. I used to earn Rs.500 a week before the accident,” says Dhanalakshmi, who lost her job after the accident.
Ten-year-old Lakshmi of Puducherry has been coming to the hospital for nine years to get treatment for a birth injury (brachial plexus) that rendered her left arm “useless”. Following a surgery at the hospital she is now able to partially lift her arm. The youngster would have to undergo at least six to seven more surgeries before she could regain 30 per cent of its function, doctors say.
A simple fracture after a fall from a bicycle three decades ago left Balamurugan of Ariyalur disabled as the fracture was treated locally. Now he comes to Stanley hospital for treatment. His psychosomatic problems and a dearth of professional counselling had come in the way of his taking regular treatment, doctors at the hospital say.
In contrast, several others who belong to the city and its suburbs and have suffered severe injuries have fared better. A couple of three-year-old children who lost their toes in road accidents are healing well because they were referred early. Likewise, P. Suresh of Padi, who was injured in a factory accident returned to work three months after treatment. Now all he requires is treatment for scars on the skin. P. Sundaram, whose hand was injured after being punched in at a printing press in 2002, has regained much of the hand’s function and taken up a new job.
Video conferencingPlastic, hand and reconstructive micro surgeon R. Krishnamoorthy says that 77 per cent of the loss of function of hand is due to trauma. Also, 25 per cent of young workers in the 15-24 years age group are the most affected and a fifth of them suffer permanent damage. Given that an estimated 5.86 per lakh persons across the State face such trauma, about 3,600 prostheses are needed to be bought every year.
Every day the department receives 25 to 30 fresh cases of injuries, Dr. Krishnamoorthy says. In its 35 years of existence, the Plastic Surgery Department has treated about three lakh people. But when the patients, particularly those from outside the city, delay their visit to the hospital, it impacts their productive life.
Had people such as Balamurugan, Lakshmi and Dhanalakshmi been referred early, they would have fared better. Setting up a video conferencing system between the tertiary hospital and other centres would ensure more people are treated early and made able to return to work, he says.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
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