Hospital has right to insist on payment but prime duty is to take care of patient: NCDRC
New Delhi: A hospital has every right to insist on payment but it also has the prime duty to take care of a patient facing a health emergency, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has said while awarding a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for medical negligence to a woman whose husband died at the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore.
A bench of presiding member S M Kantikar and Dinesh Singh awarded the compensation to the deceased patient's wife Yashumati Devi noting that there was an urgent need for the patient's brain CT scan but it was delayed for more than three hours as the hospital waited for a fresh receipt of Rs 1,850 towards charges for the procedure.
"On the basis of the examination made above, deficiency / negligence is conclusively established. In our considered view, in the facts and specificities of the instant case, compensation of Rs 25 lakh with interest at the rate of 8 per cent per annum from the date of the death of the patient appears just and equitable," the bench said.
The compensation shall be paid within six weeks of the pronouncement of this order, without fail, it said.
"There was an urgent need for brain CT scan of the patient but it was delayed more than 3 hours for the want of a fresh receipt of Rs 1,850 towards CT scan charges even though complainants had already deposited 1,50,000 in advance. Hospital has every right to insist on the payment but it was also a prime duty to care (for) the emergency patient," the bench said.
According to the complaint, the 58-year man, who later died, had a history of pain in his left arm after engaging in strenuous activity. In 2009, the patient visited the hospital's outpatient department complaining of pain in his left arm on exertion.
The patient got admitted in CMC as a private patient. On next day, after examination it was diagnosed as a case of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD).
The hospital began administering doses of Heparin to the patient, the complaint alleged, adding that it was started without any laboratory investigations or monitoring protocol.
The patient complained to the hospital authorities of bleeding and disorientation, but despite repeated requests the doctors ignored it.
It stated that they continued administering the drug (Heparin) which was the cause of the bleeding, only to be informed later that he had suffered a stroke and there was an immediate need for a CT scan.
Citing unpaid dues, the CT scan sought was denied for over three hours despite the fact that Rs 1,50,000 was already deposited.
The delay in treatment and the improper administration of Heparin led to anticoagulation, resulting in brain haemorrhage, and the patient suffered stroke in the morning at 08:30 AM, since then the doctors at CMC virtually did nothing till 10.30 PM and after long struggle the patient died on 20.06.2009 at 6.30am, it said.
The hospital raised preliminary objections that the complainants filed a false complaint and suppressed the correct facts. It was further contended that the blood thinners the patient had been taking prior to his treatment at the hospital may have caused internal bleeding.
Being aggrieved, the patient's wife and son filed the consumer complaint against the CMC for the alleged medical negligence and callousness of the doctors seeking compensation of Rs 2.01 crore.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
