In the ongoing winter session health ministry is likely to table a bill in the parliament for an overarching body for medical education in the country called, the National Commission for Human Resources in Health Bill, 2010, details of which have been obtained by Governance Now through a credible source.

The bill is designed to promote affordable healthcare services in all parts of the country through trained professionals. The commission formed under it will cover councils of various disciplines of health such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, Indian systems of medicine and homeopathy. These councils will be responsible for updating and maintaining registration details of professionals in real time and for promoting ethical standards.

Besides the councils, the commission will have a National Health Education and Training Board which will be responsible for laying down academic norms for minimum requirements for medical colleges, designing the curriculum for various courses, deciding schedule, scheme and calendar of examinations and maintaining an uniform standard in medical education.

Another body under the commission, called the Committee for Accreditation, will be responsible for giving quality assurance to health institutions and universities. These bodies under the commission will have complete autonomy in their administrative and financial affairs but the directions of the commission will be binding upon them.

A national general assembly will also be constituted by the central government under the NCHRH bill which will have representatives from the states and the union territories. The commission will be headed by a chairperson from the field of medicine. It will have not more than 16 members who shall be from the fields of medicine, dentistry, nursing, Indian systems of medicine and homeopathy. The chairperson and the members will be appointed by the central government and will hold office for a term of five years. He/she will not be eligible for re-election. After the exposure of corruption in the ranks of the Medical Council of India, revamping medical education had become a priority with the PMO also intervening. The NCHRH Bill 2010, if introduced in this session of the parliament, will be a welcome step.