Bill proposing immediate medical facilities for injured presented in Sindh Assembly

Last updated on: 24 January,2019 06:51 pm

The bill presented by Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah has been named 'Amal Umer'.

KARACHI (Dunya News) - A bill proposing immediate medical facilities for injured persons was presented in Sindh Assembly on Thursday.

The bill presented by Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah has been named ‘Amal Umer’ in the memory of a minor killed in an exchange of fire between police personnel and robbers in Karachi last year.

Speaker Aga Siraj Durrani handed over the ‘Sindh Injured Persons Compulsory Medical Treatment Act, Amal Umer’ to parliamentary committee.

The proposed legislation says, “Sindh government will pay for the medical expenses of all people injured in an emergency situation. None of the private or government hospital can refuse to provide treatment to such an injured, as it will be mandatory for all hospitals to give immediate medical facilities in such a case.”

“The hospital administration will not wait for family’s consent to initiate the medical treatment of the wounded person. Charging the injured or the family prior to giving treatment will be a punishable crime, neither will the hospitals or any doctor demand medico legal officer for the treatment of a patient,” the draft added.

The bill further suggested that it will be compulsory for all hospitals to have two ambulances equipped with all medical facilities along with a paramedical staff, adding that any kind of investigation by a police personnel or a law enforcer is not allowed until the injured is under emergency treatment.

“During the emergency treatment, the injured cannot be taken into the police custody,” says the bill.

Harassment of the individual bringing the injured to a hospital will be a crime, and whoever violates the bill will be liable to pay Rs0.5 million as fine, the bill noted.