The Supreme Court has asked the government to respond to a plea seeking guidelines for private hospitals to provide families regular health bulletins and information about the treatment of patients in intensive care or coronary care units (ICU/CCU).
A Bench led by Justices Dipak Misra and U.U. Lalit sought this information from the Centre, the states and the Medical Council of India (MCI) following a petition by a man who lost his daughter-in-law due to alleged negligence on the part of the doctors treating her at a private hospital in West Bengal.
The Bench highlighted the plight of the family members of critically ill patients in private hospitals: relatives or friends of patients, who spend hours outside ICUs and CCUs of private hospitals, often do not have any idea as to what treatment was being administered to their loved ones.
Six weeks' timeThe Bench has asked for a response within six weeks, adding that those who suffer from negligence on part of the doctor or hospital administration could move consumer forums for compensation if information about treatment was withheld.
The court’s order came on the plea of one Asit Baran Mandal, a resident of West Bengal, who alleged that negligence in post-operation care on part of a doctor treating his daughter-in-law resulted in her death.
The plea alleged that the treating physician did not ask for Liver Function Tests (LFTs) soon after Mr. Mandal’s daughter-in-law was operated upon for her pregnancy.
She died three days after the operation as her bilirubin levels touched alarming levels, it said, adding that the death could have been avoided had the levels been checked on the first day itself.
“Medical negligence is writ large in a number of private hospitals and there is no check on it,” the petition filed by Mr. Mandal stated, adding that no proper care is given post-operation, which is crucial to a patient’s recovery.
