DOCTOR, EYE HOSPITAL TO PAY DAMAGES
Neo Retina Eye Care Institute, Hyderabad, and Dr. Srinivas Ambadiguda, a consultant retinal surgeon, have been ordered to pay a sum of `5 lakh by the Hyderabad Consumer Forum, to 78 year-old Vinod Sanghi, a resident of Masab Tank, after a spurious drug was used in treatment which cost him vision in his left eye.
The complainant had visited the hospital in February, 2014. The doctor advised him to take an ‘intra-vitreal’ injection in his left eye, which the patient did after paying a sum of `9,000.
The patient continued to suffer from intense watering and redness in his left eye. The doctor then injected the eye with another antibiotic. He was injected again after a week and the treatment continued till April with the doctor and the hospital prescribing medicines, but not specifying the kind of treatment given.
The complainant claims that he was kept in the dark about the treatment, despite him asking them questions.
After he lost vision in his eye, he sent the drugs used for his treatment for private analysis, where it was found that the injection Avastin which was used, had bacteria present in it, causing 8 other patients to get eye infections as well.
However, the doctor filed a counter complaint, stating that the complainant was suffering from moderate diabetic retinopathy which is a longstanding diabetic complication, of accumulation of fluid in the retina.
The side-effects of Avastin was explained to the patient and it was administered only on Thursday, as a single vial can be used for up to 8 to 10 patients who are pooled, as sharing a single vial will reduce the cost of treatment.
He also stated that the drug was completely safe.
The doctor and the hospital further said that the infection is not procedural-related and therefore there was no deficiency of service.
The forum observed that the drug Avastin was not approved in the country and was used as an off- label drug to treat the eyes, therefore the doctor and the hospital committed gross negligence in administering the same. It is also illegal in the country to use drugs that are not approved by the government. They have been asked to pay `5 lakhs, along with costs of `5,000 due to medical negligence.