Patients’ Day (“Rogi Divas“) was celebrated yesterday (May 28) to spread awareness about patients’ rights and to assure medical justice for all victims of medical negligence. Victims medical malpractice from distant places gathered in Kolkata to tell their stories and show solidarity in search of justice for their loved ones who have fallen prey to wrong and unethical treatment by hitherto “untouchable” doctors and hospitals. Among many grievances for the victims of medical negligence, long and inordinate delay of cases against doctors/hospitals has been a source of great frustration for many victims’ families. Despite having a clear provision that complaints for compensation (under Consumer Protection Act, 1986) should be decided by the Consumer Courts through a “summary” trial preferably within a period of six months, cases against doctors are routinely kept on pending for years and even decade because serious complaints of wrongful death by errant doctors/hospitals are listed together with other trivial consumer complaints against defective products or services. PBT has long claimed that a separate fast-track consumer court should be established only to judge cases involving medical negligence in order to send a strong and deterrent signal against medical malpractice. A Memorandum was sent to the government yesterday in demand of a fast-track court for timely disposal of all complaints of medical negligence.
