Medical council forms team to probe Fortis case

The Delhi Medical Council (DMC) has formed a three-member team to investigate the case in which a man was operated on the wrong leg at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

This comes after the private hospital sacked two doctors and three operation room staffers after the case of medical negligence surfaced on Wednesday.

The team, comprising DMC members, will visit the hospital on Friday.  “The DMC’s fact-finding team will visit Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh and check medical records to investigate the alleged case of medical negligence. The council has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports on the case and will conduct an independent inquiry,” said Dr Girish Tyagi, DMC registrar.

Even though the private hospital has sacked the doctors concerned, this does not bar them from practising at other hospitals.

“If the team finds medical negligence on the part of the doctors, the disciplinary committee of the council will take action accordingly. The punishment will depend on the nature of the offence found by the team. It may also extend to striking off the names of the doctors sacked from the DMC list,” added Tyagi.

Every doctor practising in Delhi needs to be registered with the DMC.  If their names are stuck off the list, the doctors will be barred from practising anywhere in the capital.  
       
Ravi Rai, a resident of Ashok Vihar, fell from the staircase at his house on June 19. He was rushed to the emergency at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh where doctors asked him to get immediately admitted for a heel bone fracture.

He was operated upon on Tuesday. But instead of the right leg, doctors operated on the left.
They realised their mistake only when the patient himself pointed out that the wrong leg was in plaster.

Currently, the patient is recuperating at Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh where he was transferred by his family after the mix-up at Fortis.

“The doctors conducted further tests. They are yet to decide if my son would need an operation at all or if the injury would heal with a plaster,” said Ramkaran Rai, the patient’s father, on Thursday.