23/08/2017
Transferring the patient in an emergency - Make timely efforts to call ambulance/contact other hospitals. Record your efforts specifically.
Non-availability of regular/local ambulance in an emergency - Call national helpline numbers such as the 102 / 108 and request for an ambulance.
In all cases of emergencies, ensure that not only sincere and timely efforts are made to call the ambulance or to contact other hospitals for transferring the patient, but also these efforts are properly recorded. In the case of non-availability of the regular/local ambulance, it is advisable to call national helpline numbers like 102/108 to request for the ambulance. Calls made on these numbers are recorded and can be useful in a court if required.
(In this case, the hospital (OP) was held negligent not for any medical actions or inactions in managing an emergency patient who had come with an Acute Anterior Wall Myocardial Infarction (AMI), but for its failure to produce evidence in the court that efforts were taken to contact another hospital and call another ambulance as its own ambulance was transporting some other patient at that point in time.)
Grewal Hospital & Anr. v/s Sher Singh (8MLCD a19; j37 – February 2015).
Advisable – Take opinions/discuss cases with peers/consultants, even on emails. Preserve a copy of such emails with the patient's medical records. Produce copies of these emails in courts as and when necessary.
Today, globally, emails are the fastest, easiest, and most preferred mode of communication. Indian laws accept emails as evidence. Doctors and hospitals must take opinions and may even discuss cases with peers and consultants using this mode of communication. Preserving these emails and producing them before the court in appropriate cases is bound to be of great help in the days to come.
(In this case, perhaps for the first time in a case of medical negligence in India, emails were produced by the doctors (OP) in defense and they were readily accepted by the court. The court has repeatedly referred to emails sent by doctors (OP) seeking an opinion from other senior consultants and the replies received from the senior consultants through emails).
Babu Lal Gupta v/s Navjyoti Eye Centre & Ors. (7MLCD a1; j1 – January 2014).
Advisable - Take feedback at discharge from the patient/ attendants in a register/form kept for this purpose.
Taking feedback at discharge from the patient as well as the attendants/relatives in a register/form kept for this purpose is a healthy practice. It is useful not only in legal proceedings but also helps the hospital/nursing home in knowing its shortcomings.
(In this case, the hospital (OP) very specifically pointed out in defense that the patient as well as his daughter “endorsed in the patient feedback register about the excellent performance of the surgery”).
B. Gopal Reddy v/s Bollineni Eye Hospital and Research Centre & Ors. (6MLCD a1; j1 – January 2013)
Write ‘complete’ name of the patient on each and every medical record.
Refer the patient by ‘complete’ name.
Full name of the patient must always be written on each and every piece of the medical record, as serious cases of negligence have been reported due to the mixing of names. Writing common names, and that too shorter ones, such as Raja, Swamy, John, and so on, must be completely avoided and the full name must be written.
(In this case, wrong blood was transfused to the patient and the defense taken by the laboratory technician (OP2) was that at that point in time there were three patients with the same name ‘Suman,’ admitted in the same ward, and all the three were issued blood, and hence, there was a mix-up in the blood given.Writing the full name of the patient would have certainly reduced the probability of occurrence of this mistake).
Mrs. Suman & Ors. v/s Government Multi-Speciality Hospital & Ors.(5MLCD a34; j85 – March 2012).
