Certification of different categories of Disabilities at different Hospitals
Government of West Bengal
Health & Family Welfare Department (PHP Branch)
Swasthya Bhawan, GN-29, Sector-V, Bidhannagar, Kolkata – 700 091
No. 289-HF/O/PHP/1R-05/2017 29.08.2018
ORDER
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of India has enacted the Rights of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and thereafter has notified guidelines for assessment and certification of specified disabilities included under Rights of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 vide Notification No. S.O. 76(E) dated 4.1.2018.
Now, in pursuance of Section 57 of the said Act, the certifying authorities and the jurisdiction within which such certifying authorities shall perform their certification functions are mentioned hereunder.
1. The certification of different categories of disabilities at different tier/ hospitals will be as follows:
| Sl No. | Categories of Disability | Specified Disability | Tier/ Level of hospital | Constituent members of Medical Disability Certification Board |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 1 | Locomotor Disabilities | a) Locomotor disability b) Leprosy cured person c) Cerebral palsy d) Dwarfism e) Muscular dystrophy f) Acid attack victims | SDH, SGH, DH, Medical college | i) Chairperson of the Board – Medical Superintendent or M.S.V.P / Director. ii) Specialist in Orthopedics. iii) Specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation iv) One or two more specialists as nominated by CMOH/ Principal/ Director as per the condition of the person with disability. |
| 2 | Visual impairment | a) Blindness b) Low vision | SDH, SGH, DH, Medical college | i) Chairperson of the Board – Medical Superintendent or M.S.V.P/ Director ii) Eye specialist. iii) One specialist as nominated by CMOH/ Principal/ Director as per the condition of the person with disability. |
| 3 | Hearing Impairment & Speech and- Language Disability | a) Deafness b) Hard of hearing c) Speech and Language Disability | SDH, SGH, DH, Medical college | i) Chairperson of the Board – Medical Superintendent/ M.S.V.P/ Director. ii) ENT Specialist iii) One specialist as nominated by CMOH/ Principal/ Director as per the condition of the person with disability and iv) Trained audiologist or speech therapist. |
| 4 | Chronic neurological conditions | a) Multiple sclerosis b) Parkinson’s disease | District Hospital, Medical college, specialized centre ie., Bangur-Institute of Neurosciences, Kolkata | i) Chairperson of the Board – Medical Superintendent/ M.S.V.P./ Director. ii) Pediatrician for childhood chronic neurological condition/ psychiatrist for mental illness due to chronic neurological condition/ neurologist for chronic neurological conditions without mental illness. iii) Specialist for certifying locomotors disability. iv) Trained psychologist (clinical or rehabilitation) to administer IQ test. |
| 5 | Persons affected with blood related disorders | a) Haemophilia b) Thalassemia c) Sickle cell disease | a) Medical College, Kolkata will cover the following districts- i) Hooghly ii) Bankura iii) Burdwan iv) Birbhum v) Purulia vi) South 24Parganas vii) Malda viii) Murshidabad ix) North24 Parganas b) Rest of the districts will be covered by Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital | i) Chairperson of the Board – M.S.V.P/ Director. ii) Head of the Department of Haematology or any other competent person as nominated by him or her. iii) Orthopaedic Surgeon or PMR expert. iv) Any other specialist depending upon the disability of the patient. |
| 6 | Intellectual disability | a) Intellectual disability b) Specific learning disabilities c) Autism spectrum disorder | District Hospitals, Medical Colleges | i) Chairperson of the Board – Medical Superintendent/ M.S.V.P/ Director. ii) Pediatrician or Pediatric Neurologist (where available) iii) Clinical or Rehabilitation psychologist. iv) Occupational therapist or Special Educator or Teacher trained for assessment of Specific Learning Disability (SLD). |
| 7 | Mental illness | a) Mental illness | District Hospitals, Medical Colleges, Institute of Psychiatry, Kolkata | i) Chairperson of the Board – Medical Superintendent/ M.S.V.P/ Director. ii) Psychiatrist for clinical assessment. iii) Trained psychologist to administer IQ tests. |
| 8 | Multiple Disabilities | Combination of two or more disabilities mentioned below:- 1. Blindness 2. Low-vision 3. Leprosy cured persons 4. Hearing impairment (deaf and hard of hearing) 5. Deafness 6. Locomotor disability 7. Dwarfism 8. Intellectual disability 9. Mental illness 10. Autism spectrum disorder 11. Cerebral palsy 12. Muscular dystrophy 13. Chronic neurological conditions 14. Specific learning disabilities 15. Multiple sclerosis 16. Speech and language disability 17. Thalassemia 18. Haemophilia 19. Sickle cell disease 20. Acid Attack victims 21. Parkinson’s disease | District Hospital, Medical College | i) Chairperson of the Board – Medical Superintendent/ M.S.V.P/ Director. ii) Specialist required for assessing the disabilities as per the requirement of respective guidelines. iii) Specific specialist(s) for assessing the respective disabilities as per requirement of the disabled person, to be nominated by the CMOH/ Principal/ Director |
2. For the purpose of certification, the “Guidelines for assessing the extent of specified disabilities in a person included under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016” issued by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities vide Notification No. S.O. 76(E) dated 4.1.2018 is to be followed.
3. The Superintendent/ MSVP/ Director of the medical institution in the sub-division/ district/ place of residence of the applicant, as mentioned in the proof of residence in the application, will be the competent authority for issuing the certificate of disability in regard to the nature of disability mentioned at serial nos. 1 to 8.
4. As laid down under Rule 17 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017, any person with specified disability may apply in Form IV (annexed) for a certificate of disability and submit the application to the medical authority as mentioned in Para 3 above or to the concerned medical authority in a government hospital where s/he may be undergoing or may have undergone treatments in connection with the disability. Provided that where a person with disability is a minor or suffering from intellectual disability or any other disability which renders him unfit or unable to make such an application himself, the application on his behalf may be made by his legal guardian or by any organization registered under the Act having the minor under his care. The application shall be accompanied by two recent passport sized photographs and proof of residence/ Aadhaar No./ Aaadhaar Enrollment No.
5. As laid down under Rule 18 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017, the medical authority shall, after due verification, issue a certificate of disability in Form V, VI, VII, as applicable (annexed) within a month from date of receipt of an application. If an applicant is found to be ineligible for issuance of certificate of disability, the medical authority shall convey the reasons to him in writing under Form VIII (annexed) within a period of one month from date of receipt of application.
This order will take immediate effect.
Sd/- Sharad K Dwivedi
Joint Secretary to the
Government of West Bengal