Medical Negligence

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken up for consideration the healthcare sector's long-standing demand to frame guidelines for determining medical negligence cases, a reply to an RTI query revealed. Though there is no guideline at present, the matter is under consideration, the ministry said in response to an application filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act on behalf of PTI. "So far, no guidelines have been framed. It is under consideration," said Sunil Kumar Gupta, undersecretary in the ministry's medical education policy section. Gupta, who is also the central public information officer, gave a written response to PTI when asked to provide information on "if the Union Health Ministry has framed any guidelines to handle cases of medical negligence in the country". It has been more than 17 years since the Supreme Court, for the first time in the Jacob Mathew case in 2005, directed the Centre to frame statutory rules in consultation with the-then medic

The top court posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks, and directed pleadings to be completed in the meanwhile.

Portugal's Health Minister resigned after the widespread criticism of her decision to temporarily close emergency obstetric services and forcibly transfer an Indian pregnant woman between hospitals

The top court said that it clearly emerges from the exposition of law that a medical practitioner is not to be held liable simply because things went wrong

A case gone bad doesn't always imply medical negligence, and if the doctor acts as per standard procedure and yet fails, he can't be hauled up; he also enjoys strong support from his fraternity

Upon reaching the hospital, authorities allegedly refused to even provide them with a stretcher