Forum fines doctor for not maintaining medical record of patient
For not maintaining the medical record of a patient according to the Medical Council of India guidelines, a doctor has been ordered to pay a compensation of Rs 60,000 by the district consumer disputes redressal forum of Chandigarh.
Vanita Kumar had approached Dr Shanujeet Kaur, an expert of in-vitro fertilization, at Mangal Nursing Home in December 2012 for treatment in view of her inability to conceive. After examining her and putting her through many tests, Dr Kaur assured her that she was physically fit to undergo IVF treatment, and that she would conceive a child. On the doctor’s advice, she got admitted at a private hospital to undergo IVF treatment.
During the process of picking the egg from the ovary, there was bleeding, but the patient was reassured that there was no need to worry. However, after self-research, the patient came to know that if at the time of picking up of egg bleeding starts, then it is assumed that the IVF operation had failed and the doctor could not do the embryo transfer.
Dr Kaur, however, had carried out an embryo transfer. After six days, the patient’s condition deteriorated; she started bleeding and had acute pain in her lower abdomen, but was told that she was having acute gastritis. She then got herself admitted at the Government Medical College and Hospital, where she was diagnosed with secondary septicaemia, caused on account of the IVF egg pick-up.
Following her discharge from the hospital, the complainant filed a case in the consumer court, alleging medical negligence and deficiency in service. Dr Kaur denied there was any medical negligence.
The forum also did not find any evidence of medical negligence during the IVF procedure, but said there was deficiency in service because Dr Kaur did not maintain the medical record of the patient according to the guidelines of the Medical Council of India.
Therefore, the doctor was directed to pay Rs 50,000 for deficiency in service and Rs 10,000 towards litigation cost within a period of 30 days at 12 per cent interest.
Banned pesticides in 52 vegetable samples from NCR farms: JNU study
Over 20 banned pesticides under the category of organochlorines (OCPs) have been found in produce in Delhi-NCR in quantities that exceed the internationally defined permissible limits, a study conducted by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on 52 vegetable samples found.
The study, published in the international journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research, also measured health risk on the basis of annual vegetable consumption, age and body weight. The study found a high lifetime cancer risk in children and adults, which authors said was “serious concern for Delhi population”. Exposure and health risks for children were found to be double that of adults, the authors of the study said.
Vegetable samples including radish, radish leaf, cauliflower, brinjal, okra and smooth gourd were collected from Najafgarh, Mehrauli, Shahadra, Alipur, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Kanjhawala in 2012, to identify pesticide exposure in root, leafy and fruit-type vegetables.
Among the 20 investigated OCPs, 17 were detected in all the vegetable samples with HCH – a combination of pesticides called hexachlorocyclohexane, which is a banned category of pesticides – and DDT, which is banned in agricultural products. Researchers said direct spray or atmospheric deposition is the most common pathway for contamination.