Delhi Government designates 27 hospitals to issue disability certificates

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A Senior Official from Health Department of Delhi Government informed the HT, "Hospitals under the previous act were still issuing certificates, but the number of disabilities went up in the new act and these hospitals did not have the department or specialists to diagnose them."

An Associate Professor of Physiology at the University College of Medical Sciences, Dr Satendra Singh informed the daily, "The rules were notified in 2018, but till the time government notified which hospitals and which specialists could issue these certificates, how could anyone do it? Last year, some certificates for previous disabilities were issued on compassionate grounds, but people could not get certificates for the new illnesses."

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"Even for conditions that were covered under the previous act, there were changes in the criteria for visual disabilities and even the authority to diagnose dyslexia was shifted from a psychiatrist to a paediatrician and a psychologist. This was much needed,"  Dr Singh further added.