Health

Punishment for non-treatment of the victim. —Whoever, being in charge of a hospital, public or private, whether run by the Central Government, the State Government, local bodies or any other person, contravenes the provisions of section 357C of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.]

At Present there is no unified immediate medical emergency financial support in India. Few state governments like Tamil Nādu, Uttarakhand etc are providing emergency medical assistance relief funds to road accident victims and others. In general PM National relief fund providing financial assistance to natural calamity, acid attack, road accident victims. PMNRF provides financial assistance to indigent patients for treatment of major diseases at Government/PMNRF empanelled hospitals to partially defray the expenses. Individuals can also apply for the PM national relief fund, but due to huge applications and limited fund availability, decisions would be on a case-to-case basis. For more details and application form click here: https://pmnrf.gov.in/

Similarly, the Ministry of Family and Healthcare RASHTRIYA AROGYA NIDHI scheme Financially assists patients, living below poverty line and who are suffering from major life-threatening diseases, to receive medical treatment at any of the super specialty Government hospitals / institutes.

Financial assistance towards treatment in Government hospitals including super specialty Government hospitals / institutes, as per guidelines. to avail financial assistance under RAN, the patient is required to submit:

1. Application form in prescribed proforma duly signed by the treating doctor and countersigned by the Medical Superintendent of the Government hospital/institute.

2. Copy of the income certificate.
3. Copy of the ration card.
4. Submit the application along with necessary documents and attestation before the department of health and family welfare, Government of India.

5. For details and application form click here.

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Clinical negligence has become a serious issue in India, it is ascertained that more than 50 lakhs clinical or medical negligence cases are reported every year. The innocent who deserve right medication, consultation, and care are being denied/wrongfully handled by the medical profession itself. Proving such negligence has risks and many loopholes which take away justice.

“Medical negligence’ is the improper or unskilled treatment of a patient by a medical practitioner. This includes negligence in taking care from a nurse, physician, surgeon, pharmacist, or any other medical practitioner. Medical negligence leads to ‘Medical malpractices’ where the victims suffer some sort of injury from the treatment given by a doctor or any other medical practitioner or health care professional”.

Some examples of medical negligence are as follows:

• improper administration of medicines.
• performing the wrong or inappropriate type of surgery.
• not giving proper medical advice.
• leaving any object in the body of the patient such as a sponge or bandage, etc. after the surgery.

If felt any such incident, want to act for public interest and bring justice for the victim, you must do these things before any action

1. Collect all records of treatment (As per the guidelines of the Medical Council of India, the patient should get all the medical records within 72 hours from the date and time of the appointment)
2. medical bills
3. condition of the patient before the treatment
4. Take a video of negligence, if it is a denial of service or treatment, if possible

Now you can file a complaint in the police station with the copies of proof and register a complaint in the state medical council.

If the injury needs compensation, file a complaint in the district/state consumer forum of the state of crime.

On the other hand, you can showcase the incident in social media for public interest and support. It may sometimes help you connect any other victim who faced similar issues in the past. Note that if the claim is beyond 20 lakhs you should file a case in the state consumer redressal forum.

Realize that legal action may take a long time as it requires, and a lawyer’s support is indeed needed during the court process. In another way, you can create a social campaign against the clinic/hospital/doctor, which may subside their business motives and get larger public support. In such cases hospitals/doctors may come in line to sort the issue, if it is related to compensation.

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