Srinagar- Doctors who are the ambassadors of the God on the earth discharging divine function have been influenced by the elements of greed and rivalry in contemporary times, the High Court of J&K and Ladakh has observed and ordered treating a plea regarding alleged medical negligence as Public Interest Litigation for monitoring the health care facilities in Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
In this regard, a bench of Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani had directed the court’s registry to place the matter before the Chief Justice for “appropriate orders”. Subsequently, the Chief Justice has directed it to be treated and registered as a PIL and the same is likely to come up for consideration before a Division Bench on March 3.
The court’s single bench had passed the directions while hearing a plea by a father, from Arihal Pulwama village, whose youth daughter who had already done M.Sc. Biochemistry and was scheduled to pursue Ph. D Degree died following a surgery for nasal blockage with Epistaxis at a Nursing Home in south Kashmir district last year. She had reportedly developed severe complications during her post operative care in the Nursing Home and died upon being admitted to the ICU of SMHS hospital Srinagar after “a considerable delay on account of non availability of the critical care ambulance”, the court noted while hearing the petition.
In the petition, the father has in the public interest sought relief from Court to command government through the functionaries of Health and Medical Education Department, to audit all the private hospitals in light of the “Jammu and Kashmir Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulations Act) 2010 for verifying as to whether the same are registered, having requisite health care supports, machinery and permit only the qualified and competent doctors to practice in the hospitals. Besides, the father has sought compensation from private hospital for medical negligence.
“This Court cannot lose sight of the fact that even a minor procedure or surgery can have the known medical complications and a layman cannot allege the medical negligence which can only be viewed by a competent team of doctors belonging to the field,” Justice Mohammad Yousuf Wani said, adding, “It is equally true that in the present times of mercenary approach, the most noble profession of doctors has got polluted.”
The doctors who are the ambassadors of the God on the earth discharging divine function have been influenced by the elements of greed and rivalry, the Court noted.
“The noble profession is presently being practiced as a commercial job. The doctors ought to keep in mind that they are entrusted with the most valuable and precious belonging i.e. the life itself,” the court said, adding, “A patient always approaches and consults a doctor with all trust and confidence who parts with his precious belongings for securing the medical treatment and care.”
The private hospital in question, the court said, was not even registered at the time when the surgery of the deceased was conducted nevertheless, the proprietor had already applied for the same.
“Extension of registration especially of a private hospital is not an ordinary thing and to be taken as casual as with the advancement of the medical science, the competent authority has to ensure whether all the advanced and required medical equipments/machinery is in place in the hospital seeking extension in its registration,” the court said, adding, “The doctors whose private practice stands banned and in lieu of which they have been getting the handsome allowances are resorting to private practices. The critical care ambulances are not still available in most of the private hospitals/nursing homes.”
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