Incidents of medical negligence, which sometime causes death of patients at public or private hospitals across the country, are on the rise, causing worries for the people seeking health services.
Such unwanted incidents, including the death of a student at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) on Sunday allegedly for wrong treatment, triggered public outrage.
A few months ago, five-year-old Ayaan died due to wrong treatment at the United Medical College Hospital in the capital. He met the tragic end at the hospital while doctors carrying out circumcision on him.
Experts say that medical negligence has become a regular phenomenon at the health facilities due to lack of an effective law. Healthcare professionals must be brought under accountability by enacting a new law, they opined.
A comprehensive law defining medical negligence and setting compensation standards is vital for preventing medical negligence and curbing any untoward incidents, they said.
“Although medical negligence is a much-talked about issue in Bangladesh, there is no comprehensive law yet to prevent unethical practice of the doctors. Lack of necessary law and proper way of taking legal action often lead to violence,” said Advocate Mujahidul Islam Shaheen, a Supreme Court lawyer and an assistant attorney general.
Although the ‘Consumers’ Right Protection Act 2009’ and ‘Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Act 2010’ provide for some remedies, victims are not seen to complain in line with these laws. Even then, some victims go to the High Court for remedies. Some victims file cases against health professionals under the provisions of ‘The Penal Code 1860’.
Sometimes, doctors are sued in cases over medical negligence and sent to jail. However, there is very little precedent for victims getting remedies. In view of this situation, the Law Commission prepared a draft of a proposed law to check medical negligence and ensure better healthcare for people. The proposed law has been gathering dust in the offices concerned for over seven years.
In 2017, the Law Commission prepared the draft of the proposed law called ‘Healthcare Act’. The draft was sent to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, but it still remains in the file.
The commission revised the draft law and sent it to the ministry again in February this year with a letter requesting to make the draft into law, said Sonia Ahmed, research officer of the Law Commission.
The letter says that a powerful person also becomes sick. Doctors also fell ill and that is why it is important to improve the quality of healthcare in the country. The letter also reads thousands of people of the country go abroad for better treatment. They are going abroad because they don’t have trust in the country’s healthcare system and so, the people should get rid of this situation, the letter further says.
An official of the health ministry said that they had received the draft law prepared by the Law Commission. Now an interim government in the country and they will take decision in this regard, he added.
Advocate Mujahidul Islam Shaheen said currently, there is no chance to pass any law as the Parliament has been dissolved due to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government. The President may promulgate an ordinance in this regard, considering the importance of the matter.
The draft of the proposed ‘Healthcare Act’ incorporated 65 clauses in it. There are 14 sections in the draft law. The proposed law defines various types of negligence by doctors, paramedics and medical institutions. Besides, there are several provisions in the draft law according to the nature of negligence.
The proposed law touches the issues-- the negligence in the performance of proper duty by a doctor; giving wrong treatment; misdiagnosis; providing wrong medication; removal of wrong organ; providing false or exaggerated reports; unnecessary delay in providing medical treatment in case of emergency; giving unnecessary pathological and diagnostic tests; prescribing unnecessary and repeatedly dispensing the same drugs from different companies; unnecessary out-of-scope treatment; not following prescribed treatment protocols; performed by a nurse, midwife, ward boy or other person rather than a physician; and giving less or more medicine than required.
Apart from doctors, the negligence of hospitals and clinics have also been brought under the ambit of crime. That is, not regularly supervising all matters related to the patient’s treatment; not keeping adequate medical equipment; not storing all information regarding the opinions, orders and comments of trained and experienced nurses, doctors regarding the patient's treatment; failure to maintain all types of emergency medicine; failure to maintain necessary surgical equipment including autoclave; not taking effective measures to prevent hospital-acquired infections; every health facility that does not have its own waste management of international standards.
The proposed law includes the formation of one or more ‘Healthcare Dispute Resolution Tribunals’, the procedures of these tribunals and the formation of health care-related complaints, investigations, and appeals, commissions in order to assess the damage caused and determine and recover its compensation.
Section 53 of the existing ‘Consumers’ Right Protection Act’ states that if a service provider causes loss of money, health or life of a service recipient through negligence, irresponsibility or carelessness, he/she will be punished with imprisonment for up to three years term or a maximum fine of Tk 2 lakh or both.
According to section 73 of the law, the Director General will have the power to inspect the health services provided in the private sector and uncover the observed errors. However, the Director General won’t take any remedial action of the observed irregularities. He will only inform the Secretary of Ministry of Health and Director General of Directorate General of Health Services.
The Law Commission says, the ‘Consumers’ Right Protection Act’ has the scope of remedy for medical negligence. However, this process is not easy.
The Penal Code, 1860 covers allegations such as negligence causing death or harm, endangering life, and drug adulteration. However, proving medical negligence under these conditions is challenging.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Act, 2010 makes some offenses punishable. However, process through this law is also not easy, said Advocate Mujahidul Islam Shaheen.
