This is a presentation made at the National Semester on Medical Tourism and Unabated Medical Negligence in India: A Legal Holistic Perspective organised by NEF Law College and Indian Council of Medical Research on 5th December, 2016

1. 23 JUNE 2018© DR ANAMIKA RAY MEMORIAL TRUST, 2015; CC -BY-SA 1
MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
CAUSES AND ISSUES
Dr. Ankuran Dutta
Associate Prof. & Head, Department of Communication and Journalism, Gauhati University
Managing Trustee, Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust

2. this presentation is dedicated to
DR ANAMIKA RAY

3. DISCUSSION OUTLINE
 Medical Negligence: Conceptual Framework
 Medical Negligence in India
 Rootcauses
 Patients’ Rights
 Patients’ Responsibilities
 Towards a better and transperant heanthcare service in India
 Isn’t it Medical terrorism?
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4. PROLOGUE
 “I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to service of
humanity.”
 This is the first sentence a doctor utters while taking an
oath when s/he enters into the medical profession.
 They are considered as God by people despite knowing
the fact that they are human, as the profession gives
‘hope’ to live to a patient and his family.
 But due to the increasing number of medico legal issues
in the country, there is a serious concern about the
doctor-patient relationship.
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5. MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
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It is very difficult to define negligence, however, the concept
has been accepted in jurisprudence.
The authoritative text on the subject in India is the ‘Law of
Torts’ by Ratanlal and Dhirajlal. Negligence has been
discussed as:
Negligence is the breach of a duty caused by the omission to do
something which a reasonable man, guided by those
considerations which ordinarily regulate the conduct of human
affairs would do, or doing something which a prudent and
reasonable man would not do. Actionable negligence consists in
the neglect of the use of ordinary care or skill towards a person
to whom the defendant owes the duty of observing ordinary
care and skill, by which neglect the plaintiff has suffered injury
to his person or property.

6.  The definition involves three constituents of negligence:
 (1) A legal duty to exercise due care on the part of the party
complained of towards
 the party complaining the former's conduct within the scope of the
duty;
 (2) breach of the said duty; and
 (3) consequential damage.
 Medical Negligence: Law and Interpretation by Anurag K. Agarwal
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7. MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
 Health care errors is the 8th leading cause of death in the world
 Over 7 million people across the globe suffer from preventable
surgical injuries every year (WHO)
 Globally, 234 million surgeries take place every year, one in every 25
people undergo a surgery at any given time.
 In developing countries, the death rate was nearly 10% for a major
surgery
 Morality from general anaesthesia affected one in 150 patients while
infections were reported in 3% of surgeries with the mortality rate
being 0.5%
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8. MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE
 Nearly 50% of the adverse effects of surgery were preventable
 5.2 million medical injuries are recorded each year in India
 43 million people get injured each year due to unsafe medical care
worldwide
 About two-thirds of medical injuries occur in low and middle income
countries like India
 Mukesh Yadav and Pooja Rastogi (Indian Acad Forensic Med. Jan-
March 2015, Vol. 37, No. 1)

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9. MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE IN INDIA
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India records approximately 5.2 million cases a year, ranging from incorrect
prescription, wrong dose, wrong patient, wrong surgery, and wrong time to
wrong drug.

10. ROOT CAUSES
 Over confidence of medical practitioner (Number game)
 Delayed Care or medical intervention/ abandoning a patient
 Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose or a Delay in Diagnosis/
Wrong Diagnosis/ failing to properly treat the medical
problem
 Negligent Procedures or Surgical Errors, failing to perform a
needed surgical or medical procedure
 Failure to Consult in a Timely Manner/ failing to obtain the
patient’s informed consent before conducting a medical or
surgical procedure
 Medication Errors or Medication Malpractice Resulting from
Negligent Drug Treatment
 Birth Injury Malpractice or Negligent Maternity Care Practice
 Lack of skilled para-medical staff
 failing to prevent infections/ failing to maintain equipment
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11. PATIENTS’ RIGHTS
 Right to get the best possible medical care without
discrimination
 Right to prompt, life-saving treatment
 Right to take part in all decisions relating to your health care
 Right to privacy
 Right to know the identity and role of people
 Right to dignity and to have caregivers respect you
 Right to appropriate assessment and management of your pain.
 Right to receive visitors you choose
 Right to refuse treatment and to leave the medical center
 Right to get necessary information
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12. PATIENTS’ RESPONSIBILITIES
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 Responsibility to refrain from misbehaving and misconduct
 Responsibility to refrain from physical assault or damage to
property
 Responsibility to be truthful
 Responsibility to provide your complete and accurate medical
history
 Responsibility to cooperate with the agreed line of treatment
 Responsibility to meet your financial obligations
 Responsibility to refrain from initiating, participating or
supporting fraudulent and illegal health care practices
 Responsibility to report illegal or unethical behaviour
 Responsibility to get a post-mortem done
 Responsibility to discuss end of life decisions

13. TOWARDS A BETTER AND TRANSPERANT
HEANTHCARE SERVICE IN INDIA
CCTV
surveillance
Monitors 4
displaying ICU
Record-keeping
mechanism
Indoor case file or
bed head ticket
Recording of all
surgery
Seizing of medical
records
Practitioner –
laboratory nexus
Generic medicines
medical ethics and
communication in
medical courses
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14. ISN’T IT MEDICAL TERRORISM?
Medical
Error
Medical
Negligence
Medical
Terrorism
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When a medical professional or a service provider does
any inhuman behaviour creating an environment of
terror using medical knowledge or license, then it is not
only negligence, it is also medical terrorism.

15. IT IS MEDICAL TERRORISM...
 “We have heard of Biological Terrorism before. Today,
there is a new form of Terrorism. Medical Terrorism. This
is the New Term of Murdering Patients. If they don't have
the money (if they can't afford it), let them die. The pain,
the anguish, the condemnation, the distress and
humiliation that the Patients are going through in our
time is incomprehensible. People who are already
helpless and in need of care are subjected to further
trouble by people who should be taking care of them.
Instead of embracing them they are adding salt to injury
through neglect, lack of concern and sheer abandon until
money is deposited in the facility account so as to
commence any form of treatment.” - Stephen Murathe
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16. MEDICAL TERRORISM @ UN
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Dr. Anamika Ray Memorial Trust feels happy that the issue “medical terrorism” has been
placed and deliberated at the 32nd general session of Human Rights Council at the United
Nations, Geneva recently by an NGO named Prahar.

17. Please visit:
armt.in
Contact
ankurandutta@gmail.com
www.comcomm.org
Ph- 91-9910115696
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