Times of India
31 March 2011
Gandhinagar, India

The state assembly on Wednesday cleared the way for the formation of a physiotherapy council in the state. The assembly passed a bill announcing the formation of the Gujarat State Council for Physiotherapy.

Health minister Jay Narayan Vyas, giving out the reasons for forming the council, said the role of physiotherapists in the delivery of health services including investigation, treatment and prevention of disease by virtue of special skills is paramount and physiotherapists are most critical manpower for providing preventive and curative health service.

He said there is no law at present in the state which provides qualification for the registration of physiotherapists and for the registration of institutions imparting training to physiotherapists there by giving specialised assistance to work alongside physicians and other specialised medical officers.

He said it was therefore necessary to regulate the profession of physiotherapists and to provide for registration of physiotherapists and universities and institutions conferring degrees at graduate or post graduate level in physiotherapy. Vyas said as per the new law, after the formation of the council, all new institutes and colleges coming up in the state would have to take prior approval of the council. Vyas said no institute would also be allowed to increase its intake capacity or start new courses without the prior approval of the state government and the council.

It is worth recalling that earlier this year students of 23 physiotherapy institutes in the state staged a rally demanding setting up of a physiotherapy council in the state. The students complained that physiotherapy institutes in the state lacked proper regulations and uniformity in academic standards. The students said they want proper data on job vacancies after completing courses. Besides, if there is a council to authorise qualified students to practice, patients could identify genuine therapists.