GURUGRAM: The district medical board has received 46 complaints of
medical negligence against doctors working at private and government hospitals in the city in the past one year, according to a reply by the board to an RTI query filed by activist Aseem Takyar. Of the 46 complaints lodged since July 31, 26 complaints were lodged in 2017 and 20 in 2018, added the reply.
These include complaints against the doctors and staff of General Hospital, Civil Lines, who had been working in the gynaecology ward on April 24, 2017, when Tarannum, a resident of Bhimghar Kheri village, died there. She was referred to the hospital from the Bhondsi health centre and the doctor and nurse of the centre have been named, too.
Seven-year-old Saurya Pratap was treated for dengue and billed Rs 15.88 lakh by Medanta Hospital before he died in Delhi in October last year. A complaint has also been lodged in this case and the report of the probe has been submitted to the health department.
Health officials are now on their toes as the medical board is conducting hearings in at least two of these cases each working day. The board is supposed to complete its inquiry in each case and submit a report within 60 days. However, in many cases, the inquiry gets delayed due to backlog or because one of the parties is missing hearings or delaying submission of documents.
According to a senior health official, the trend to file complaints has picked up after Fortis Hospital was charged with overbilling in the
Adya Singh dengue case. There have been at least 32 complaints since November 2017 after the case made headlines.
While hospitals justify fees citing modern health services and luxury facilities, patients demand treatment at a more affordable price. This is becoming a bone of contention and the basis of a few complaints. “There are some cases which prima facie appear to be genuine. But there are also those cases where people refuse to pay the hospital bill after the patient dies. We conduct inquiries but that takes time and the waiting list is increasing,” said Dr Naresh Sharma, medical board
IMA member, Gurugram.
