Delhi Government designates 27 hospitals to issue disability certificates

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.

New Delhi: Delhi Government has issued a circular designating  27 hospitals to issue disability certificates. This has been done to ensure that patients don't have to rush from one hospital to another for gaining the disability certificate.

The Delhi Government has given the authority to the hospitals located in all 11 districts under the new central Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, for 21 conditions. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, includes conditions like dwarfism, multiple sclerosis, and acid attack.

The constitution and composition of the medical board that will issue the certificates have also been specified.

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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.