Alleged Medical Negligence: Surgeon held at fault for practising in UP without State Medical Council Registration
Noida: In a case of alleged medical negligence, the Health Department has recommended an FIR against the doctor who, despite being registered under MCI (Medical Council of India), did not have a license under UP Medical Council.
As per the health department officials, a license under UP Medical Council is a necessary prerequisite to continue private practice in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The matter came to light after the kin of a patient who passed away due to excessive bleeding alleged negligence against the doctor. The patient, a 27-year-old woman had a cyst in her uterus and the doctor allegedly operated upon her at a nursing home in Rabupura. The patient died at the nursing home due to excessive bleeding.
The patient's family alleged that the owner was in fact a quack and the doctor whom he called to perform the surgery of the woman also lacked the qualifications required for the surgery. They also claimed that the nursing home's registration was valid only till July this year, and it is originally registered in the name of another MBBS doctor.
The post-mortem report of the patient identified the cause of her death as 'shock and haemorrhage' as a result of intra-abdominal bleeding and haemorrhage from pelvic organs (uterus and adnexa)'.
According to The Times of India report, the post-mortem report stated that she was operated on once; however, the patient's family claimed that she underwent surgery at least two to three times. They demanded that the videography of the operation should be checked and analyzed.
Commenting on the issue, the husband of the deceased told Times of India, "*** (the patient) had a cyst in her uterus and she was operated upon at least twice as she has an elongated cut on the left side of the stomach and another cut on the side. However, the post-mortem report says she was operated on once. There should be an examination of the videography of the operation, though we don't think videography is available at all."
After the patient's death, the family approached the police with a complaint, and police, in turn, directed the CMO to submit a report confirming the degree, qualification, and registration of the operating doctor and the owner.
The Health Department then initiated an inquiry on the hospital owner as well as the doctor also who operated on the patient. The owner of the hospital was found to have a possible BMS degree (not qualified to practice allopathy). At the same time, the Health Department found that the operating doctor is qualified and completed his MBBS and MS degree from Bihar's Nalanda Medical College. TOI reports the doctor was registered with the MCI, but was not registered with the UP Medical Council which the health department pointed as mandatory.
Dr Pawan Kumar, who was in charge of the inquiry informed the daily, "He is a qualified surgeon practising on call... For him to practice in UP on a private basis, he needed to get himself registered with the UP Medical Council. However, he had not done so."
The doctor, along with the owner of the nursing home, has already been booked under IPC 304 (death due to negligence), 420 (cheating), and 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating). The owner of the nursing home has already been arrested by the police as he did not have the necessary qualifications to run the hospital.
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