Health Bulletin 24/ December/ 2024

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) recently exonerated a Hyderbad-based hospital and neurologist from charges of medical negligence after reiterating the Supreme Court's directions that a much higher degree of gross negligence to hold a medical professional liable for any such act.

"The law of negligence in the medical profession was discussed in the case of Jacob Mathew Vs. State of Punjab (2005) 6 SCC 1 the ratio whereof requires a much higher degree of gross negligence in order to hold a medical professional to be liable for any such act... In the instant case, in view of the facts on record and as discussed herein above, I do not find this to be a case of gross medical negligence as alleged by the Complainant and therefore, I do not find any reason to hold the Opposite Party No.2 liable for any of his acts for any loss or damage to the Complainant. The Complaint is accordingly dismissed," observed the Apex Consumer Court.

A Thane court has sentenced a former professor and head of the surgery department at Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Kalwa to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for sexually harassing MBBS trainees under the pretext of demonstrating diagnostic procedures.

The incidents, which occurred in 2014, involved Natarajan, who at the time served as the head of the surgery department.

More than 8,000 medical aspirants in Telangana are facing uncertainty regarding their future with the delay in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) counselling process.

Although the two rounds of All India Quota (AIQ) counselling has already been completed, the merit list for the State-level counseling, conducted by the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), is yet to release its merit list.

In an alleged case of violence against medical professionals, doctors and staff of Malwa Ortho Hospital on Muktsar-Kot Kapura Road were allegedly attacked by a group of miscreants after they protested against a man for molesting a female employee. The man, along with his associates, also vandalized hospital property during the incident.

According to Dr Arun Jain, the hospital's director, the accused followed the woman employee into the hospital, demanded her mobile number and began molesting her. When the doctors, and staff protested, he left but returned shortly after with a group of six to seven armed men. They were carrying swords and sticks.