The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Bill, 2020

The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions (NCAHP) Bill, 2020

The Rajya Sabha recently passed the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020. The Bill seeks to regulate and standardise the education and practice of allied and healthcare professionals. Lok Sabha already passed The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Bill, 2020 [NCAHP] unanimously.

Importance of the Bill

1. It defines ‘allied health professional’ as an associate, technician, or technologist trained to support the diagnosis and treatment of any illness, disease and injury.
2. The Bill has a provision to set up the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions.
3. Under the legislation, a provision has been made that no person is allowed to practice as a qualified allied and healthcare practitioner other than those enrolled in a State Register or the National Register.

Key features of the Bill

Allied health professional: The Bill defines ‘allied health professional’ as an associate, technician, or technologist trained to support the diagnosis and treatment of any illness, disease, injury, or impairment.

Healthcare professional: A ‘healthcare professional’ includes a scientist, therapist, or any other professional who studies, advises, researches, supervises, or provides preventive, curative, rehabilitative, therapeutic, or promotional health services.

Allied and healthcare professions: The Bill specifies certain categories of allied and healthcare professions as recognised categories. These are mentioned in the Schedule to the Bill and include life science professionals, trauma and burn care professionals, surgical and anaesthesia related technology professionals, physiotherapists, and nutrition science professionals.

National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions: The Bill sets up the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions. The Commission will consist of:

• the Chairperson
• Vice-Chairperson
• five members (at the level of Joint Secretary) representing various Departments/ Ministries of the central government
• one representative from the Directorate General of Health Services
• three Deputy Directors or Medical Superintendents appointed on a rotational basis from amongst medical institutions including the AIIMS, Delhi and AIIPMR, Mumbai
• 12 part-time members representing State Councils, among others

Functions of the Commission: The Commission will perform the following functions with regard to Allied and Healthcare professionals:

• framing policies and standards for regulating education and practice
• creating and maintaining an online Central Register of all registered professionals
• providing basic standards of education, courses, curriculum, staff qualifications, examination, training, maximum fee payable for various categories
• providing for a uniform entrance and exit examination, among others.

Professional Councils: The Commission will constitute a Professional Council for every recognised category of allied and healthcare professions. The Professional Council will consist of a president and four to 24 members, representing each profession in the recognised category.

State Councils: Within six months from the passage of the Bill, state governments will constitute State Allied and Healthcare Councils.  The State Councils will consist of:

• the Chairperson (at least 25 years of experience in the field of allied and healthcare science)
• one member representing medical sciences in the state government
• two members representing state medical colleges
• two members representing charitable institutions
• two members from each of the recognised categories of allied and healthcare professions, nominated by the state government, among others.

Establishment of institutions: Prior permission of the State Council will be required to:

• establish a new institution
• open new courses, increase the admission capacity, or admit a new batch of students to existing institutions.