Shoddy treatment for MLCs

Smita8217;s death put into sharp focus the reluctance on part of private hospitals to tackle Medico Legal Cases MLCs, which generally have legal implications in case of death. These cases include victims of suicide, burn, and accidents, where the police are involved. This attitude, in fact, runs counter to Supreme Court guidelines that a patient, irrespective of whether his is an MLC, should be administered first-aid treatment by any doctor.

Officials at Narhari said they were not aware of Smita8217;s case but maintained that the hospital provides first aid to MLCs, including poison cases something that Smita8217;s family says was not done in this case.

8220;These cases are not admitted because we don8217;t have the expertise to deal with them but we do administer first-aid immediately,8221; said Dr R D Bhandari. Hospital Superintendent Dr Vipul Desai said he was not aware of the facts in this case but would inquire into it.

The tragedy of Smita seems to be the rule rather than the exception in Vadodara8217;s private hospitals, where doctors are wary about handling MLCs. Dr Paresh Mehta, who runs a private nursing home in Fatehpura and boasts of a 24-hours medical facility, admits as much. 8220;There is general reluctance when it comes to handling an MLC because any fatality puts us at legal risk.8221; Why, then, does he advertise 24 hours service? 8220;We provide the necessary first aid.8221;

However, city-based advocate Narendra Parmar and renowned city-based surgeon Dr Jayshree Mehta are clear on what the law is. 8220;If a hospital says it has 24 hours emergency service it cannot deny treatment to a patient, especially when it8217;s a question of that patient8217;s life.8221;

Some doctors at the privately run hospitals claim that the reluctance is also at times triggered by lack of a proper medico-legal structure in their hospitals. 8220;We don8217;t have a proper ML department, so we8217;ll be caught in a bind if the patient dies8221;, said a surgeon at a city-based private hospitalsWhat compounds the confusion for the family members of the patients is whom to approach in case of refusal for first aid. Legal experts say the proper forum for such complaints were the consumer forum. 8220;They can approach the consumer forum which can take care of such cases,8221; adds Parmar.

The police also have a role to play in such cases but officials say that the role is limited. 8220;Our role is limited to lodging complaints about criminal negligence. But the quantum of damage would be identified by the courts,8221; said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohan Jha.