Doctors will have to follow uniform guidelines specified by the Central government to evaluate and certify the cause of disability, said Principal Secretary, Health, V.K.Subburaj.
Addressing medical professionals, who are also members of the various Medical Boards in the district, Mr. Subburaj said doctors have to take the task of issuing disability certificates seriously. Apart from responsibility and commitment, they also had to have a rounded picture of multiple disabilities while issuing the certificates.
He was speaking at the inaugural of a State-level workshop on Disability Evaluation and Certification organised here by the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD).
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NIEMPD Director Neeradha Chandramohan said currently certification was being done only for uni-disability or a single disability. The training programme was organised to orient doctors on multiple disability certification. A disability of 40 per cent or more was caused by blindness, low vision, hearing impairment, mental retardation, mental illness, locomotor disability, leprosy (cured), Cerebral Palsy and Autism. Multiple disabilities indicate a condition in which the disability is caused by two or more of the above causes, she added.
The objective of the workshop was not only to disseminate information to doctors regarding the guidelines, but also to clarify their doubts regarding the current evaluation process. The issue of simplifying the process was also taken up at the meeting, as the medical boards met only once a week to give certificates. It was mentioned that this was insufficient to cover a substantial portion of the disabled population.
The recommendations from the meeting would be sent to the Government of India through the State government, Dr. Chandramohan added. The workshop was conducted by the NIEPMD with the National Institute for the Orthopaedically Handicapped, Kolkata, and the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
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