Health Bulletin 19/July/ 2025 - Video

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC) recently enhanced the amount of compensation payable to a girl who had lost her vision due to the misdiagnosis of her ailment by an ophthalmologist.

While the girl had a brain tumour, the ophthalmologist misdiagnosed the eye ailment as squint. Due to this, the girl lost vision in both her eyes, TNIE has reported.

Earlier, while considering the complaint, the District Consumer Commission at Kollam had directed the treating hospital and the ophthalmologist to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation and Rs 50,000 as costs to the girl.

Challenging the District Consumer Court's order, the doctor had filed an appeal before the State Consumer Court.

As per the latest media report by The New Indian Express, the history of the case goes back to 2003 when the patient was a first standard student and showed signs of squint on her left eye. She was taken to the Kollam-based treating hospital on March 20, 2003.

After conducting a fundoscopy and refraction test on the same day, and on March 24, the ophthalmologist advised her to use a rubber over the right eye for at least four hours a day. The doctor had told the patient to come for a review after six months.

The Delhi High Court has sought to know a response from the Central Government and the National Medical Commission (NMC) on a plea that demands same-gender partners be recognized as each other's medical representatives, by granting them the same rights as heterosexual spouses in healthcare settings.

Agreeing to take up the plea, the HC bench on Thursday issued a formal notice to the Central Government and the Apex Medical Commission.

The plea was filed by a woman who married her partner in New Zealand in December 2023. Her petition highlighted a significant gap in India's medical regulations, which currently do not explicitly acknowledge same-sex partners as next-of-kin.

Due to this, such couples have to face practical and emotional turmoil during medical emergencies. As per the latest media report by Law Trend, the petitioner argued that with her partner's immediate family living in different states or even abroad, they are often not available to provide consent for urgent medical procedures. As a result, the person closest to her partner is left legally powerless to act whereas such an act is automatically granted to a husband or wife.

Postponing the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 examination at the last minute following the Supreme Court's directions turned out to be a costly affair for the Government.

According to a recent RTI reply from the National Board of Examinations (NBE), which conducts the NEET PG examination, the board had already paid Rs 11.02 crore to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for holding the exam in June, as initially scheduled.

Even though the exam was initially scheduled for June 23, 2024, Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Union Health Ministry postponed the exam at the last minute as a precautionary measure due to concerns about the integrity of the examination process. The Ministry had taken this decision amid allegations of irregularities in certain competitive examinations. Consequently, the exam was eventually held on August 11, 2024.

An MBBS doctor who worked at a renowned hospital in the city until a few months ago has been arrested for the second time in a drug smuggling case. He was caught red-handed with 56 grams of Mephedrone worth Rs 15 lakh along with his two associates.

The Crime Branch’s Anti-Narcotics Cell arrested the doctor and two others on July 16 near Hotel Nimantran in Bibwewadi, where they were allegedly waiting to sell the drug. Besides the drug, a car and mobile phones were also seized.

The accused have been identified as 27-year-old Mohammad, 28-year-old Samuel Balasaheb Pratap, and 27-year-old Aniket Vitthal Kudle.

The incident took place when the anti-narcotics squad received information that three people had come in a car and were standing near the Nimantran Hotel in Bibwewadi to smuggle drugs.