Gujarat: Civil Hospital told to pay Rs 60,000 over lack of discharge summary | Ahmedabad News - Times of India
Septuagenarian patients being discharged from Civil Hospital
AHMEDABAD: A consumer court has ordered Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad, to pay Rs 60,000 compensation to a patient’s relatives because the hospital failed to provide a discharge summary when the patient left the hospital.
The Gujarat State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission said the hospital did not provide a discharge summary to the patient and in the absence of this important medical paper, the patient and his family could not obtain expert advice. This was considered a deficiency in service and Rs 60,000 compensation was considered apt to meet the end of justice. Besides, the hospital authorities will have to pay Rs 10,000 to relatives of the patient for legal expenditure.
The litigation was initiated by Natwar Chavda’s wife, Laxmi, and mother, Chancharben, with help from the Consumer Education & Research Society in 2008. The complaint was filed with the consumer forum of Ahmedabad district after Chavda suffered paraplegia following a surgery at Civil Hospital for removal of a kidney stone in July 2005.
Chavda remained hospitalized from July 25 to February 2006 after the surgery, which left him paraplegic. He later passed away and his family members sued the hospital and the doctor who conducted the surgery, alleging medical negligence. The Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Ahmedabad district did not accept that there was medical negligence on the part of the doctor and dismissed the complaint.
The family appealed before the commission and asserted that this was a case of medical negligence, but this contention was not accepted by the commission. However, the commission accepted the family’s argument that without the discharge summary, it was difficult for the patient to get expert medical advice. It said that the Medical Council of India has imposed an obligation on hospitals with a 2002 notification to maintain medical records and provide patients access to them.
Besides the MCI notification, the consumer court also cited NABH and NHRC guidelines and cited observations of the Bombay high court to say that it is crystal clear that it is the duty of the hospital and the doctor to provide the discharge summary and medical papers within 72 hours of discharge.