20 April,2009 03:04 PM IST | | PTI
In a concerted effort to improve the doctor-patient relationship and improve the overall healthcare system keeping patients' safety on top, a group of medical and paramedical professionals have decided to initiate reporting cases of errors and negligence from their side.
Medical negligence or errors like using a used syringe, leaving a mop inside patient's stomach or administering over doses of medicines or the ones whose expiry dates are over will be recorded truthfully and confidentially, said the doctors, who met under the ageis of World Health Organisation's 'World Alliance for Patient Safety' yesterday at the King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital.
As the number of medico-legal cases against negligence is increasing these days and the cases of errors or negligence go unreported, doctors and paramedical staff said it was important in their own interest to record such errors or negligence to improve the overall healthcare system.
After the Maharashtra Government approved an ordinance protecting medical establishments against attacks which also includes the protection of patients, the patient-doctor confrontation attitude will have to be converted to a win-win situation, they said.
Many a times, doctors do not report such errors to either hospitals or any scientific body which are beyond their control fearing a legal case, said gynaecologist Dr Nikhil Datar.
Hence, to encourage hospitals to report such cases, the Indian Confederation for Healthcare association (ICHA) consisting of many medical associations and representatives of various associations including nurses, hospital administrators, patient groups and NGOs, launched a patient safety initiative, a first organised effort.
Even in US, such reporting has helped in reducing 66 per cent of the bloodstream infections across the hospitals, Dr Akhil Sangal said.
The pan-India patient movement will be flagged off with Mumbai hospitals as Maharashtra has already has the ordnance in place with the required inclusion of a clause requiring the government to set up a redressal committee for patients' problems involving doctors, patient groups as well as government officials.
President of Association of Medical Consultants Dr Suhas Kate said they met the additional chief secretary Chandra Iyengar to set up the grievance redressal committee at the earliest.
