Doctors not given a chance to explain- says Fortis Shalimar Bagh after Delhi Medical Council bar
Fortis Hospital
New Delhi: After the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) decided to bar two Shalimar Bagh-based Fortis Hospital doctors from identifying as neonatologists and super specialists, the hospital has now claimed that those doctors did not get a chance to present their case.
However, the medical council, on the other hand, has stated that they proceeded with the action only after the doctors failed to respond to the notices issued to them on April 4 and a subsequent extension request through a letter dated April 21. In those notices, the Delhi Medical Council had asked the doctors to explain their position.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about these two doctors, who were, back in 2019, accused of medical negligence- allegedly leading to unabated Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy along with "West Syndrome" in a child. At that time, the child's parents had alleged that the treating doctors did not have the required qualifications to practice as super-specialists.
Recently, addressing the complaint, the Delhi Medical Council wrote to the Medical Superintendent of the Fortis Hospital and ordered these two doctors to refrain from claiming the status of neonatologist and practising as super specialists. The Council issued this direction after noting that as per the information available with it, these two doctors did not have the required medical qualification to be called specialists.
DMC informed that while Dr. Akhilesh Singh is registered with the Council holding only an MBBS qualification, the other doctor, Dr. Vivek Jain, is registered with DMC holding MBBS and MRCP qualifications.
Therefore, considering the material on record and the information received from the UK General Medical Council regarding Dr. Jain, the Delhi Medical Council Executive Committee opined that pending further inquiry, both Dr. Singh and Dr. Jain "should refrain from claiming neonatologist status and practicing as super-specialists." The Council further added that the credentials of these two doctors as qualified paediatricians are also pending inquiry.
However, now, Fortis Hospital has issued a statement claiming that the medical council did not give a chance to these two doctors to present their case. As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the hospital said in the statement, "We are astonished by the recent order, which appears to have been passed without our knowledge or opportunity for the doctors to present their case. The absence of any prior notice for a hearing raises questions about the order's procedural validity. Notably, the Delhi Medical Council's own affidavit to the Hon'ble High Court in 2023 did not challenge the doctors' qualifications. This development is, therefore, unexpected. We are... reviewing the order and will take appropriate legal steps."
However, the Delhi Medical Council has opposed such claims made by the hospital and added that the council only proceeded with action after the doctors failed to respond to the Council's notices.
Explaining that the matter centres on individuals claiming credentials that they did not possess, the Delhi Medical Council President Dr. Arun Gupta informed TOI that these doctors presented themselves as super specialists without holding the degrees recognised by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
Allegations of Medical Negligence and Plea in High Court:
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported on the issue of these two doctors, who had been accused of medical negligence while treating a child. Filing a plea before the Delhi High Court, the child's mother had alleged that negligence by those two treating doctors Dr. Jain and Dr Singh left her son bedridden for life. It was alleged that even though the doctors claimed to be specialists and super specialists, they did not hold the requisite qualifications.
The petitioner's plight started in August 2017 when her son Devarsh suffered brain injury in the said hospital. The injury became known after several months when the child grew. The child was born at Fortis in August 2017 and was initially declared unwell by the hospital immediately after the delivery through C-section.
It was submitted by the child's mother that the hospital had treated the patient for 12 days in the ICU and discharged him based on a wrong medical summary stating that he was normal. However, allegedly, the child was not healthy and later turned into a vegetable in the next 7 months. Filing the plea in 2019, the child's mother had informed the Court that the child was suffering from unabated Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy along with "West Syndrome".
The petitioner had alleged that the treating doctors had concealed the facts, and due to this, the child remained deprived of any medical treatment and kept suffering infantile spasm/seizures for more than seven months at home till his brain got completely damaged. This ultimately rendered the child permanently disabled, both mentally and physically. An FIR was also lodged in this case in 2019.
Earlier, while considering the matter, the Delhi HC bench headed by Justice Yogesh Khanna had directed the National Medical Commission (NMC), Delhi Medical Council (DMC), and the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to look into post-graduate degrees of those two doctors, who were working as Child specialists/super-specialist at Fortis Hospital in Delhi.
Response from NMC:
In response, NMC had informed the Court that those 2 senior doctors of Fortis Hospital did not have the recognised qualification to be called a child specialist. The Commission had informed that it did not even have the additional qualification of another doctor making him a neonatologist and therefore, the Commission had requested the Court to get it from the Delhi Medical Council.
Addressing the issue of Dr. Singh, NMC had admitted before the Court that he had obtained registration by the Delhi Medical Council only based on his MBBS qualification. According to NMC, except for MBBS, Dr Singh’s all other qualifications were unrecognised. "...there is no Additional Qualification Registration granted to Dr Akhilesh Singh on the basis of which he could be considered as a specialist," NMC had informed the Court.
Regarding Dr. Jain, NMC submitted that the medical council granted registration for his MBBS degree and additional registration for his Membership of MRCPCH, but the Commission was only aware of his MBBS degree. Back then, NMC had also stated that primarily registrations are granted by the State Medical Councils on their State Medical Registers and requested the Court to examine DMC's affidavit to find out if additional registration norms had been complied with.
