NHRC to hear appeals on patient's rights violations and medical negligence

Shreya Nimonkar, resident of Thane, alleged victim of medical negligence and violation of patient's rights. Her life has become unbearable after surgery. She is struggling for the last three years and has explored every democratic way to seek justice, but without any relief until now. There are many victims like Shreya, but they don't know whom to approach in the absence of a patient friendly grievance redressal system in Maharashtra. Hundreds of complaints of patients like Shreya’s are pending before the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), since last many years, without any result. Is this because MMC consists mostly of doctor's representatives, and does not allow adequate space for patients issues to be addressed? Does Maharashtra need a dedicated Clinical Establishments Act with provisions for Patients rights, to ensure a patient friendly grievance redressal system? Shreya’s case and her tireless struggle for justice prompts us to find urgent answers to these burning questions.

In a unique development, the National Human Rights Commission is undertaking a national level enquiry into people’s rights violations in public and private health sectors across India. This includes the status of existing regulatory structures and systemic factors contributing to patient's rights violations. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in collaboration with Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), which is a national network of civil society organisations working on health rights, is organising a series of Regional Public Hearings on Right to Health care in different parts of the country. The first public hearing in this series is in Western Region.