Gurugram: A government panel formed to investigate into medical negligence cases has found that only 15% of these complaints involved actual cases of medical negligence. No negligence on part of the doctors or the medical establishments could be found in the remaining cases.

The medical negligence board began functioning from June 2017 and has received 112 complaints till January 16, 2019. Inquiry has been completed in 102 of these cases. Among these, the patient was found to be a victim of medical negligence in only 16 cases.

The six-member board includes the chief medical officer or his representative (chairman), the principal medical officer (member secretary), two specialists from the concerned medical field, the president of the Indian Medical Association’s Gurugram chapter, and a member of the National Integrated Medical Association.

During the inquiry, the medical qualifications of the concerned doctor are checked in order to ascertain if he is qualified to treat the patient. The board then checks whether the treatment was done in a medically-accepted way. The board also checks if measures to reverse or curb the complications were taken and whether the hospital or the clinic had the equipment to perform a particular treatment or procedure.

Both the complainant and the medical experts concerned are required to attend the inquiry meetings.

Dr Sanjay Narula, Senior Medical Officer, Gurugram, mentioned that they had referred four complaints to PGI Rohtak for specialists’ opinion. He added that the highest number of complaints have been received from Gurugram district compared to other districts in Haryana.

The trend started after some private hospitals in Gurugram made headlines for overcharging patients for dengue treatment. Several complaints have been lodged since then against private hospitals, government hospitals as well as single doctors running clinics.

The board receives complaints through various agencies, including the CM and PM Windows, the Office of Director General (Heath Services), police, court as well as directly from complainants approaching the civil surgeon of Gurugram.

On completion of the inquiry, the board cannot take any action. Instead, it submits the report to the agency through which the complaint was received. The board can only give expert opinion on the course of the treatment. (TNN)