Without a forum to help, a scalpel can slash patient rights

Like a man possesed , Kathiravan ran through the hospital corridors, a cold sweat breaking out on his back as he asked doctors, a passing nurse and loitering ward boys about his wife. He had admitted his pregnant wife after she started running a fever. Within minutes of doctors giving her an injection, her condition rapidly deteriorated. After an hour, when a doctor told Kathiravan that his wife was dead, he van that his wife was dead, he flew into a blind rage and assaulted the doctor.

“I had no control over the situation,“ Kathiravan recalls.“They simply said they did not know the cause of death. I wanted answers but there was no one to give me any and I had no place to go for help.“

The sudden death of Kathiravan's wife is no isolated case.Activists say the lack of a proper redressal forum for victims of medical negligence has resulted in an increase in both deaths due to botched procedures and attacks on doctors and hospitals.

“No one can justify an act of violence. But when there is no forum to help family members of patients who due to medical negligence, they have nowhere to turn,“ People's Health Movement national committee member Ameer Khan said. “They can't put a lid on their emotions because they can't turn their focus to an attempt to seek justice.“

People for Better Treatment's Dr Kunal Saha said corruption and medical negligence go hand in hand. “Medical negligence claims several lives every year as there is no mechanism to regulate the healthcare industry .“

Medical Council of India can take action against doctors, Khan said, but the Tamil Nadu Medical Council's files have been gathering dust for at least last five years.“Data from the council shows that in the past five years, it has not helped a single family in a case of negligence or cancelled a doctor's registration for causing death due to negligence.“

Dr K Senthil of Tamil Nadu Government Doctor's Association said doctors should interact more with patients and their families and communicate with them efficiently to overcome an increasingly prevalent lack of trust in doctors.

“It is the duty of doctors to keep patients and their families constantly updated about the health status and the treatment protocols they are following,“ he said. People's Health Movement and the National Human Rights Commission plan to hold nationwide public hearings from October to March to review complaints of medical negligence and help patients or their families obtain justice.