Delhi Hospital Fined Rs 10 Lakh for Deficiency in Service

NEW DELHI:
Not providing detailed information on the diagnosis of a disease to the relatives of a 43-year-old patient, who eventually died, proved costly for a private hospital in Delhi as it was fined Rs 10 lakh for being deficient in its services.
In 2001, Surendra Tyagi, 43, complained of numbness, which gradually spread all over his body. In 2002, he was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease, a neurological disorder.
Around September the same year, he approached the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Sarita Vihar where doctors opined that he had Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nervous system.
According to Tyagi’s family, the diagnosis should have been of the motor neuron disease. They said Guillain-Barre Syndrome is curable and they had spent Rs 2.5 lakh on the treatment.
They alleged that Tyagi was discharged from the hospital even though he had not recovered. The doctors did not give it in writing that there was no need for him to remain admitted, the court was told. Tyagi was discharged on April 21, 2004, at 3:45 pm.
“Tyagi was taken to his residence in Hapur in a ventilator-equipped ambulance which reached about 6:45 pm. Upon withdrawal of ventilator, he died within 15 minutes,” Tyagi’s counsel told court.
The counsel for the hospital and the doctor, however, told court that no medical negligence had occurred on their part.
“The diagnosis report of the patient gave a ray of hope for some treatment. Relatives of the patient were informed of the cost of treatment. They were also informed that there was no guarantee for cure, even in case of Guillain-Barre-Syndrome.”
“The patient had an untreatable motor neuron disease. He was initially treated for GBS which is a treatable disease. No harm was done to him,” the court was told.
A medical board held that there was no medical negligence on the part of the doctor and the hospital because at times, certain features in case of MND can also be seen in GBS.
“In other words electrophysiological features could be the same in case of MND and Axonal variety of GBS. The doctor was misled by the commonality of said features in MND and GBS,” said the report of medical experts.
However, the Delhi State Consumer Disputes Rederessal Commission upheld the report of the medical board that ruled out medical negligence but held them accountable for ‘deficiency in service’.
The commission observed, ” In view of the foregoing reasons, the Commission is of the considered opinion that the hospital and the doctor are not guilty of medical negligence. However, the patient was not made clear of the prognosis. Nothing was explained to the relatives in relation to the commonality of the features of Motor Neurone Diseases and GBS. Relatives of the patient remained in dark in that they remained under an impression that the disease was fully curable and the treatment was as per standard protocol.”
In view of the present case, the hospital and the doctor were deficient in service as the relatives of the patient were never explained the prognosis, the Commission said.