Even though there are many complaints about the heavy bills in private hospitals and errors in medical treatment, these are usually not addressed or solved. During the strike of nurses of private hospitals, these nurses revealed some of the malpractice being committed in the name of medical treatment.

Following the revelations, the legislative assembly passed the Clinical Establishment Act in 2018 to make sure that patients receive good medical treatment and to bring in some level of control over many practices. One of the main stipulations of the Act was that all the hospitals in the state must be registered irrespective if it is a government-run or private hospitals.

After four years of the passing of the Act, it still remains on paper only. 1362 hospitals remain unregistered in the state. They are continuing without registering after securing a stay from the High Court. The health department has not taken the initiative to remove the stay or begin a discussion with the hospital authorities. This policy of the government is explicitly helping private hospitals.

The Private Hospital Association has found a loophole around the Act that was passed by the legislative assembly of Kerala. The Act came into force in 2019 and is applicable to every institution that is related to health care be it in the government sector or private sector. It covers allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha, Unani, and Naturopathy hospitals, scanning centers, labs, etc.

The law helps patients to receive good medical treatment at affordable prices. It even makes sure that actions are taken when medical errors take place. According to this Act, every health institution must provide every infrastructure and register with the Clinical Establishment Council within four years.

The law requires that the hospitals and labs must publicize their rates, must transfer patients to better hospitals if the condition is worsening, and also must face action if heavy amounts are charged. If the wrongdoing is serious in nature, then the law stipulates that the registration can be canceled.

Naturally, these guidelines will not find favor with private hospitals which charge fees according to their own interests. That is why they approached the High Court and secured a stay. If the court is convinced of the matter and changes brought to any illegal stipulations in the Act, then the stay can be withdrawn.

The order of the Health Minister to take action against Thankam Hospital in Palakkad, where a mother and baby died during pregnancy, still remains unexecuted. This is because the Collector, who is the District Chairman of the Clinical Establishment Council, had withdrawn from taking action because of the stay from the High Court.

According to this Act, the licenses are to be given from January 2023. Till now, 7074 medical institutions have been registered. Most government-run health institutions are registered under the Act. If private hospital owners have any complaints then it must be addressed and the registration process must be completed as soon as possible.

No sector can be left on its own. Therefore, urgent government intervention, especially of the health department, is necessary in this case.