IMA wants hospitals on highways to reserve beds for accident victims

Medical body to call meeting to discuss reservation of 5% of hospital beds for those injured in mishaps

IMA wants hospitals on highways to reserve beds for accident victims

Medical body to call meeting to discuss reservation of 5% of hospital beds for those injured in mishaps

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has taken up an initiative to make sure accident victims will have beds reserved for them in the hospitals along the highways and the Expressway so that no one can deny them treatment in future.

The MiD DAY report on Monday about a 14-year-old girl who could not
get treatment for four hours

The IMA has called for a meeting of all important hospitals to discuss the issue. In a report on Monday (Accident victim turned away by three hospitals), MiD DAY exposed how hospitals along the highways were denying treatment to accident victims, with the police even claiming the hospitals did this because they were worried no one would settle their bills if the patient was unaccompanied by relatives.

Dr Ambarish Shahade, the newly elected president of IMA, said, "A meeting of all major hospitals and doctors will be convened to discuss the decision to keep 5 per cent beds reserved for accident victims. IMA's medical wing is in touch with all the authorities concerned. This entire process will take a month to complete and then a decision will be taken."

Shahade said hospitals agreeing to keep beds reserved for accident victims will be given wide publicity to facilitate emergency medical care for people needing it. "I am sure there will be positive outcome of this," Dr Shahade said. "If an emergency patient is brought in, all the necessary facilities, including the reserved beds, will be given."

What the law says
Hospitals or doctors denying treatment to accident victims can be booked under Section 134 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The act says that it is the duty of every medical practitioner or doctor on duty in the hospital to immediately attend to the injured person, render medical aid or treatment without waiting for any procedural formalities. As per Section 187 of the same act, those not complying with Section 134 can be imprisoned for a term which may extend to three months or fined Rs 500, or both. For the second offence, it mentions imprisonment for six months or fine of Rs 1,000, or both.