Gujarat Medical Council suspends doctor for misrepresenting qualifications, alleged negligence

Surat: Holding a Surat-based doctor guilty of providing negligent treatment leading to a patient's death and misrepresenting his qualifications, the Gujarat Medical Council (GMC) has suspended the medical registration of the said doctor for six months.

According to recent media reports, the Council found out that the accused doctor misrepresented his degrees and claimed to possess an MD degree in modern medicine despite possessing only an MBBS degree. 

The concerned doctor is associated with Maaruti Multispeciality Hospital in Surat and he obtained his MBBS registration from Ningxia Medical University in China, Indian Express has reported.

While the doctor did not have an MD degree, he reportedly possessed a Master's Diploma in Alternative Medicine, the council found out during the inquiry. As per an official order issued on Thursday, the doctor's registration suspension will be implemented between January 29, 2025, and July 28, 2025.

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GMC started conducting the inquiry into the matter after receiving a complaint in this regard from a patient's family. Filing a complaint, the brother-in-law of a patient informed that the said patient was admitted to Maruti Multispecialty Hospital for dengue treatment under the accused doctor's care. Even though the doctor only had an MBBS degree from China, he allegedly falsely claimed to be an MD degree, the Times of India has reported. 

According to the TOI report, the patient's condition worsened during the treatment and even though his wife suggested transferring him to another hospital, the accused doctor refused, asserting that the patient's condition was not stable. Later, when the family took the patient to another hospital, he died.

Based on the complaint from the patient's family, GMC conducted an inquiry into the matter and during the proceedings, the complainant, the accused doctor and an homeopathic practitioner, who was present at the hospital during the treatment, were heard by the Council. After reviewing the complaint, the explanations given by the doctor and also the oral and written statements of the individuals associated with this case, a report was submitted to the GMC.

Indian Express has reported, the medical council issued its order based on a resolution of the Executive Committee dated November 12. The Council noted that although the doctor "possessed only an MBBS degree and not the MD in modern medicine, he had still claimed to possess the master’s degree."

Regarding the Master Diploma degree of the doctor in Alternative Medicine (Acupressure, Magnet, Sujok, Pyramid, Colour Crystal, Yoga and Reiki Healing), the Council noted that it "is not a recognised medical qualification under the Indian Medical Council Act 1956, and does not qualify him as an Emergency and ICU specialist."

GMC mentioned in its order that the accused doctor "misled the police into believing that he had a valid master’s degree in modern medicine and had conveyed this wrong impression to the public for his medical practice."

"This action on part of Dr *** is serious misconduct according to the explanation (c) of Section 22(1) of the Gujarat Medical Council Act, to be read with Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations 2002," further mentioned the order.

The resolution of the Ethics Committee was approved by the General Body of the Gujarat Medical Council and accordingly, the doctor's MBBS license was suspended for six months. Additionally, the council also requested the registrar of the Council of Homeopathic System of Medicine to initiate disciplinary action against the Homeopathic practitioner involved in the matter.

Further, the Council directed the Municipal Commissioner of Surat to take suitable action against BHMS practitioners or those without allopathic qualifications, who provided treatment at multispecialty hospitals.

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