Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

Annexure 8
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After listening to the testimonies the panel has decided to take cognisance of only a small part of
them as individual human rights cases. Though the other individual cases are also heart-rending
the panel thought it more useful to pursue the systemic causes behind these failures. For these
systemic issues that underlie the denial of the right to health care the panel makes the following
15 recommendations which are forwarded to the state governments for implementation.
1. A Vigilance Mechanism must be built up in each state health department with assistance
and in coordination with the police department. This vigilance should be proactive and
not only responding to complaints. Its focus should be to prevent illegal charges in
public health facilities, and private practice inside public health facilities or in public
hours.
2. All public health facilities should have display boards that state what are the legal user
fees, if any, declare that payments other than these are illegal and inform where to
register a complaint in this regard.
3. Vigilance also needs to be exercised against unnecessary referrals to nursing homes,
clinics, diagnostic services. To be effective on this the state governments have to issue
orders disallowing public health staff from referring to nursing homes, clinics or
diagnostic services where they have a monetary advantage or commission.
4. Monitoring structures for health programmes should be established/strengthened at
the district and block levels with the inclusion of panchayat representatives and civil
society partners who are active in advocacy work.
5. Monitoring structures for CHCs, civil hospitals and district hospitals should be
established by either strengthening existing patient welfare societies or creating them.
These would also have vigilance functions.
6. Independent of the above two there should be a grievance redressal mechanism where
those who have been denied quality care- in the private or public sector- can go to for
registering their grievance and seeking relief.
7. All areas which have had no doctor for over an year and all those areas which have had
no nurse/midwife for over an year should be publicly notified as medically and
paramedically underserved and a special package of measures must be undertaken to
provide some temporary relief and access to care for these areas. ( eg visiting doctorpvt
or public, mobile clinic, NGO, etc). This special package adopted may be made in
consultation with all interested parties especially the elected panchayats.
8. States should have a transparent non-discriminatory transfer policy such that doctors
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