Guilty doctors deregistered for 6 months

The Delhi Medical Council has taken a rare decision of deregistering two surgeons for a period of six months in case of a serious medical negligence wherein the doctors operated upon the wrong leg of the patient. The incident is related to a 24 year old youth named Ravi Rai, who was admitted at Fortis Hospital in Shalimar Bagh after fracturing his right foot. The hospital has dismissed the two surgeons after it was inferred in a preliminary enquiry held by the Disciplinary Committee of the hospital, that the operating team may have sidestepped due processes. Later it was found out that the doctors had put multiple screws inside the left foot of the victim which led to further complications and he was bedridden for several days. DMC further stated that the Disciplinary Committee found out that the two surgeons namely, Dr. Ashwani Maichand and Dr. Rahul Kakran had failed to exercise reasonable degree of skill, knowledge and care which is expected of an ordinary prudent doctor. & quot The disciplinary committee recommends that their names be removed from the state medical register for 180 days,& quot the order said. DMC's registrar Dr Girish Tyagi explained the above order saying that the two doctors shall not be allowed to practice at all for six months. He further added that exemplary actions are required in proven cases of medical negligence. The doctors were given fair chance to present clarification and explanation on the allegations that were put on them, but they had no substantial evidence which could satisfy DMC. In fact it was found that case records were tampered to mislead investigators. The victim Ravi Rai had fell from stairs in June last year, following which he was rushed to hospital. His family alleged that doctors told them that he needed surgery to fix the bones. & quot We agreed but wanted some time to arrange the insurance papers. So, a temporary cast was put. It's incomprehensible how they missed the marks left by the cast and operated on the wrong foot,& quot said the patient's father, Ram Karan Rai. He further added that it was only when Rai came to his senses and screamed in pain that the doctors realized their mistake. The hospital issued a statement on June 22, 2016, when a complaint was filed with the police in the matter, stating that services of the two doctors and personnel (five) have been dispensed with. Dr Tyagi said that this is a rare instance of such strong action against doctors. DMC receives 20-30 complaints of medical negligence every month. Most of them are related to overcharging. & quot The increase in number of complaints could also be because patients are aware about their rights,& quot the official added. As per a report published in British Medical Journal, medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US, accounting for 2.5 lakh deaths every year. & quot WHO has laid down standard operating procedures for safe surgical operations. If the hospitals follow them strictly, the rate of errors will certainly reduce,& quot said a senior doctor.

The decision of Delhi Medical Council is completely justified. We see endless cases of medical negligence around us and still they are never enough to teach a lesson to the reckless doctors who play with health conditions of people. The council needs to make more of such stringent decisions to warn the doctors because now the people are aware of their rights and will not spare the wrong doers.