It was a big news in 2015 when three powerful medical leaders backed by the ruling Trinomul-Congress party in West Bengal hatched an unthinkable plan to perform dialysis of a pet dog in the top government SSKM hospital in Kolkata. It was a tremendously reckless plan that could have jeopardized countless human patients to serious danger. Although the actual dog’s dialysis was stopped at the last moment due to intervention of some younger medicos, the misadventure was one for the history book of medical blasphemies. The 3 TMC doctors who orchestrated the whole plan included a sitting TMC MLA and W.B. Medical Council president, Dr. Nirmal Maji, then SSKM Director, Dr. P.K. Mitra and then head of Nephrology at SSKM Hospital, Dr. Rajendra Pandey. PBT fought a fierce battle to bring the three political medical leaders to justice and after years of grueling battle with the medical councils, Medical Council of India (MCI) eventually held the three doctors guilty for unethical conduct and found their conduct “condemnable” although they only issued strong warning on the ground no dog dialysis actually occurred.
Recently, Dr. Pandey was selected to be a member of the all-powerful body of National Medical Commission (NMC) by virtue of his present position of vice-chancellor of West Bengal Health University. Section 7.1(f) of NMC Act, 2019 has categorically stated that all NMC members must be of highest moral and ethical character and a member must be removed from NMC if he/she is found to have abused his/her official position against public interest. Clearly, Dr. Pandey’s deplorable act of attempted dog’s dialysis in a tertiary-care hospital for humans abusing his post of head of Nephrology renders him unfit for the post of a NMC member. PBT lodged a formal complaint yesterday with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare for immediate removal of Dr. Pandey from the NMC (see PBT’s memorandum below).
Let to Health Ministry (Feb 28, 2021) Dog Dialysis NMC member
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As usual, great work PBT and Dr Saha!
My family is also a victim of medical negligence. I’ve started the petition “Medical Council of India, Lilavati Hospital: Cancel License, expel Corrupt Nephrologist Hemant Mehta, Prashant Rajput who killed my Mom”.
Will you take 30 seconds to sign it right now. Here’s the link:
http://www.change.org/p/medical-council-of-india-lilavati-hospital-cancel-license-expel-corrupt-nephrologist-hemant-mehta-prashant-rajput-who-killed-my-mom
Thanks!
Parag