Medical Negligence – The Downfall of General medicine
Medical profession is one of the most reputed professions in
the world as we know and doctors are
considered as gods because they save our lives.
It is sad to say
that hospitals in the state, and all over India, have become money generating
machines for many doctors, while the patients have become their commodities. There
are many doctors who are working in private hospitals while they are actually
supposed to be serving in Government hospitals. It is a serious matter that in
order to make profit, doctors make patients undergo unnecessary clinical tests
at the private centres, even though the government hospitals are equipped with
laboratory facilities. In corporate hospitals, each patient may be seen by
multiple specialists. An orthopaedic surgeon is called because the hands and
feet are aching; a neurologist for numbness in the hands. They come and look at
the patient and their charges are added to the bill. Here investigations are
not based on what the patient’s illness is, and whether there is a need for
specific investigations. Given any complaint, they produce a list of
investigations that must be done. Is it
useful for multiple specialists to examine a patient? This question is never
even asked. In many private medical colleges, the students only see a few
patients, and even fewer from the poorer sections. How will they develop social
sensitivity? There is a need to appoint a welfare officer who can advise the
patient parties about the cost involved and other clinical testing required for
a particular treatment.
A Medical Nightmare
Recently, a hospital
was under scrutiny for committing medical negligence. The following is our case report on the
incident.
CHILDLINE
Trivandrum received complaint from a young couple regarding medical negligence.
The mother was consulting the gynaecologist in a reputed hospital in the city. The
first scan, as instructed by the hospital was taken in the hospital itself. The
baby’s condition was reported good. They were very much content with the
treatment provided by the experts in the hospital. The next two scans were completed as per
instructions from the hospital and the child’s condition was reported to be
good. In the seventh month the couple
decided to take a scan elsewhere before the scheduled scan at the hospital and the scan revealed absolutely terrifying
results, as the baby was found multiple abnormalities and no procedure could
correct them. The most flinching of them all was the undeveloped testis and
absence of ovaries. This made the sex determination of the child almost
impossible.
The baby was born
with many abnormalities such as microcephaly, cleft palate (breast feeding not
possible), retrognathia, upper limb anomalies, undescended testis, hairy
forehead and so on. The parents left the child at the hospital in the first
week of October, 2016 for the treatment of deformities. On the same day
evening, we informed SHO of the local station, who in turn contacted the
General Manager (Administration) of the hospital. The hospital authorities
contacted us requesting immediate intervention to transfer the baby to a higher
centre for special care. They stated that unless the baby was shifted to a
higher centre for proper care, the life of the baby might become endangered. The
next day, CHILDLINE Team visited the hospital and enquired about the matter and
their formalities under progress. The case was forwarded to CWC and Child
Rights Commission with the written complaint of the mother citing medical negligence.
An expert team was sent to examine the situation at the hospital. Now, the
commission has ordered the hospital to look after the baby. The mother visits
the child daily but has no option to take it home, as they are financially weak
and cannot facilitate the treatment.
What is Medical Negligence?
Public awareness
of medical negligence in India is growing. Hospital managements are
increasingly facing complaints regarding the facilities, standards of
professional competence, and the appropriateness of their therapeutic and diagnostic
methods. After the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, has come into force some
patients have filed legal cases against doctors, have established that the
doctors were negligent in their medical service, and have claimed and received
compensation. As a result, a number of legal decisions have been made on what
constitutes negligence and what is required to prove it.
Medical
malpractice can take many forms. Here are some examples of medical negligence
that one might encounter:
·
Failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis
·
Misreading or ignoring laboratory
results
·
Unnecessary surgery
·
Surgical errors or wrong site surgery
·
Improper medication or dosage
·
Poor follow-up or aftercare
·
Premature discharge
·
Disregarding or not taking appropriate
patient history
·
Failure to order proper testing
·
Failure to recognize symptoms
It is important
to know what constitutes medical negligence. A doctor owes certain duties to
the patient who consults him for illness. A deficiency in this duty results in
negligence. A basic knowledge of how medical negligence is adjudicated in the
various judicial courts of India will help a doctor to practice his profession
without undue worry about facing litigation for alleged medical negligence.
