Dishonesty and careless attitude of hospitals result in people's suffering: NP Kaushik

NP Kaushik, Member (Judicial), Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, talks to Cheena Kapoor about rising desperation among patients and their families as they take the legal route against malpractices by hospitals.

What is the nature of the medical cases that you attend to?

These are mostly medical negligence-related cases from private hospitals and nursing homes. When a commercial angle is involved, there tends to be dishonesty and careless attitude, which leads to people's suffering.

What is the frequency of such cases?

I alone see at least 2-3 cases against private health centres every month. The Commission only gets cases that involve compensation of Rs 20 lakh or more. So I am sure there are many cases in district forums.

What are the most common cases of negligence?

Deliveries go wrong a lot of times. We receive a lot of cases of needles being left in the abdomen. These are cases of sheer negligence. Anyone with money opens a nursing home these days and performs surgeries.

What steps can the government and regulatory bodies take to prevent the occurrence of such cases?

It is very important that the Medical Council of India becomes stricter in granting registration to medical practitioners and accreditation to private medical colleges. Any person can run a clinic these days. Also, for every such case, we seek an expert medical opinion from a government-run hospital. We have noticed that a lot of times these opinions are a little biased or in favour of doctors and organisations. There should be a non-partisan committee to deal with the matter.

Nobody without a proper qualification should be allowed to run a health centre. Any medical negligence should lead to the license being forfeited. This is a serious business and repeat offenders should not be allowed to practice at all.