Are hospitals and doctors not registered with relevant allopathic systems and bodies allowed to practice and treat patients? Certainly not. The courts too don’t take such instances lightly, as this case demonstrates.
Shamsher Singh had taken his father to Metro Plus Hospital as he had pain in the upper abdomen and was feeling nauseous. An ECG was performed that reported that the patient had a heart attack. Shockingly, he died at the hospital in a few hours.
Knowing that the hospital and its doctors were responsible for the loss of his father, Shamsher Singh approached State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi and pleaded for justice. Unlike many relatives, he didn’t vent out his anger, instead he revealed the history and presented all records and left it on the Commission to decide on merits.
The hospital had several defences, although none of them were relevant. It was stated that the senior doctor administered tablet sorbitrate, aciloc and disprin and the patient felt better and slept. But a few hours later he had a cardiac arrest and despite best efforts, he could not be saved. We followed due diligence, claimed the hospital.
Such false representation drew the Commission’s ire. It was observed that while the hospital claimed to be renowned and well-equipped to treat cardiac emergency, no relevant treatment was given. Even the medical records didn’t mention that the patient was given tablet sorbitrate. There were no cardiologists on hospital’s role and the patient died for the want of treatment more than anything.
What struck the Commission even more was the fact that the doctor who treated the patient was BAMS registered with Board of Ayurvedic and Unani system of medicine and the hospital itself was not registered with Directorate of Health Services!
The Commission stated that the hospital didn’t have a right to operate and the doctor was unqualified to treat the patient with the allopathic system of medicine.
The quacks were held guilty and fined five lakh rupees.
Source: Order pronounced by State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi on 20th December, 2017.