The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Medical negligence or baseless allegations?

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Wednesday, Nov 01, 2006
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Medical negligence or baseless allegations?

Staff Reporter

`There should be an independent body to look into such cases and take complaints from public and hospitals alike'

HYDERABAD: Niloufer on Thursday, Yashoda on Sunday and Apollo on Monday.

In less than one week, three city hospitals, both State-run and corporate, have reported incidents of aggrieved relatives attacking doctors or levelling allegations of medical negligence. And this is nothing new.

Monday's incident, when relatives of Rahul Kumar, a patient who passed away there went to the extent of accusing Apollo Hospitals of "stealing a kidney" from the deceased.

The provocation, reportedly, was a tube that was inserted into the patient's lungs to prevent them from collapsing. Relatives misunderstood this and picked up a quarrel with the hospital.

They calmed down only after the entire treatment process was explained to them. The hospital also went to the extent of asking the police to send the body for a post-mortem to verify the "kidney theft" accusation as well. On Thursday, relatives of a four-year-old boy who died at Niloufer, manhandled a junior doctor alleging that the hospital's negligence resulted in the boy's death. Yashoda's incident was similar with relatives refusing to pay pending bills alleging negligence.

"Proving medical negligence is not easy in the first place. Secondly, there is no proper system here to do that or whatever system exists is not functioning properly. There are many who exploit this to blackmail hospitals with accusations of negligence," says the top honcho of a corporate hospital that recently moved the court after a patient's relatives accused it of negligence.

Suspected negligence

"There have been several instances where those who levelled allegations scooted silently after we suggested a post-mortem of the body. But by that time, they would have called in television channels and we would have had enough of negative publicity. And our clarifications are ignored," he says.

"That is just one side. What about cases where relatives who suspected negligence, without any interests of making money, being left with none to approach for help? They go to the police, a case is registered and slowly, the issue dies down since the police does not try or have the acumen to prove medical negligence. There should be an independent body to look into such cases and take complaints from the public and hospitals alike," he adds.

Public in dark

"We actually have a district committee put up to look into such allegations. It is hardly called in during such situations and very few cases have reached a logical end. Moreover, how many in the public know about the committee?

What has been done to make patients or their relatives aware of their rights? What about doctors whose reputations are tarnished because of baseless allegations?" asks a Government Doctors Association member.

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