Apollo Hospitals reiterates need to form medical board

Slams probe panel’s application accusing it of conspiracy

January 04, 2019 01:10 am | Updated 01:10 am IST - CHENNAI

J. Jayalalithaa

J. Jayalalithaa

Apollo Hospitals on Thursday reiterated the need to constitute a medical board of specialists of global standards to look at the records of late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa submitted before the retired Justice A. Arumughaswamy Commission.

Meanwhile, the hospital’s counsel has filed an application to reschedule the dates of deposition of its doctors pending consideration of its appeal on the medical board.

Counsel for Apollo Maimoona Badsha told reporters on Thursday that the application for the constitution of a medical board is likely to be heard next week. She also criticised the Commission’s lawyer for filing an application accusing the hospital of conspiracy.

‘File an affidavit’

“Why has the application been made accusatory? Why has the Commission’s lawyer not filed an affidavit? If he is so convinced about collusion and conspiracy, let him file an affidavit,” she said.

Referring to the allegations made by the Commission’s lawyer in his application, she said that as per a Supreme Court direction, if an allegation of malpractice was made against a doctor, it must be referred to a panel of doctors before a complaint could be filed.

“When an application is being filed by wrong reading of medical facts, a medical board alone can interpret whether a lie is being perpetrated by the doctors or, if that indeed is the manner in which a disease will be treated,” Ms. Maimoona said.

She said the hospital had submitted 30 volumes of documents, CDs of ECHO cardiograms, X-rays, blood tests, microbiology, and other medical records of treatment given to Jayalalithaa during her stay at the hospital. “Who is going to look at the CDs? How is the Commission or the Commission’s lawyer in a position to watch these CDs and make a decision? We have produced EEG printouts that she was not brain dead when the Commission’s lawyer says she was brain dead,” she added.

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