Assembly bills: TB now a notifiable disease
Anyone who breaks the law can serve up to two years in jail and pay a fine of Rs500,000
KARACHI:
The Sindh Tuberculosis Bill, passed by the Sindh Assembly on Monday, has made tuberculosis (TB) a notifiable disease. This means that it is required by law to be reported to government authorities as the information will allow authorities to monitor the disease and provide early signs of an outbreak.
The minister for parliamentary affairs, Dr Sikandar Mandhro, said that this was a good thing as TB could potentially cause a lot of harm. “In the private sector, healthcare providers frequently don’t have an up-to-date TB treatment protocol,” he said.
The provincial programme for TB will now develop a form and deliver copies of it to district health officers (DHOs) who will then distribute it to doctors, including private clinics and hospitals. According to the law, DHOs will have to run awareness campaigns, seminars and workshops on how to prevent and treat TB.
Doctors will have to maintain a record of their patients suffering from TB and provide the DHO with updates. Dr Mandhro said that if a patient decided to change his address, the doctor treating him would have to inform the DHO. It was also the doctor’s responsibility to inform the patient on how to prevent spreading the disease and treatment. Mandhro added that the government will set up an online TB notification system within a year.
Anyone who breaks the law can be punished by spending a term which may extend to two years behind bar or a fine of Rs500,000.
Other bills
The lawmakers also passed a bill to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases in the province. The ‘Sindh Epidemic Diseases Bill 2014’ was moved by Dr Mandhro.
Initially, the MQM objected and claimed that the provincial government lacked the capacity and should seek help from the federal government. “After this legislation, the West Pakistan Act of 1958 will be repealed,” said MQM’s Muhammad Hussain. “Now, the National Institute of Health facilitates and helps us in research and other issues, particularly in diagnosing polio. How can the provincial government handle this situation?”
Mandhro argued that many institutions and medical universities in Sindh were capable of conducting the research and their capacity building would be enhanced with the passage of time.
The Sindh Eye Surgery (registration) bill was also passed by the assembly. It will restrict unregistered doctors from carrying out surgery with and without the patient’s consent. If anyone breaks this law, they could spend upto a year in jail and pay a fine of Rs500,000.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2014.
The Sindh Tuberculosis Bill, passed by the Sindh Assembly on Monday, has made tuberculosis (TB) a notifiable disease. This means that it is required by law to be reported to government authorities as the information will allow authorities to monitor the disease and provide early signs of an outbreak.
The minister for parliamentary affairs, Dr Sikandar Mandhro, said that this was a good thing as TB could potentially cause a lot of harm. “In the private sector, healthcare providers frequently don’t have an up-to-date TB treatment protocol,” he said.
The provincial programme for TB will now develop a form and deliver copies of it to district health officers (DHOs) who will then distribute it to doctors, including private clinics and hospitals. According to the law, DHOs will have to run awareness campaigns, seminars and workshops on how to prevent and treat TB.
Doctors will have to maintain a record of their patients suffering from TB and provide the DHO with updates. Dr Mandhro said that if a patient decided to change his address, the doctor treating him would have to inform the DHO. It was also the doctor’s responsibility to inform the patient on how to prevent spreading the disease and treatment. Mandhro added that the government will set up an online TB notification system within a year.
Anyone who breaks the law can be punished by spending a term which may extend to two years behind bar or a fine of Rs500,000.
Other bills
The lawmakers also passed a bill to prevent the spread of dangerous diseases in the province. The ‘Sindh Epidemic Diseases Bill 2014’ was moved by Dr Mandhro.
Initially, the MQM objected and claimed that the provincial government lacked the capacity and should seek help from the federal government. “After this legislation, the West Pakistan Act of 1958 will be repealed,” said MQM’s Muhammad Hussain. “Now, the National Institute of Health facilitates and helps us in research and other issues, particularly in diagnosing polio. How can the provincial government handle this situation?”
Mandhro argued that many institutions and medical universities in Sindh were capable of conducting the research and their capacity building would be enhanced with the passage of time.
The Sindh Eye Surgery (registration) bill was also passed by the assembly. It will restrict unregistered doctors from carrying out surgery with and without the patient’s consent. If anyone breaks this law, they could spend upto a year in jail and pay a fine of Rs500,000.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2014.