INGRAM | Integrated Grievance Redressal Mechanism

1. What are health services?

Health services or health care is the maintenance or improvement of health by prevention, diagnosis, treatment, recovery, or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health professionals and allied health fields.

2. Who is consumer?

It can be any of the following:

· Person who made the payment

· When office pays for treatment of employee.

· When insurance pays for treatment.

· When Govt. hospital treats from the deductions made from the salary of the person.

3. What are the rights available to a patient & consumer?

• Patients have the right to be told about their illness, and to have their medical records explained.

• Patients should be explained about whatever treatment/medicines are prescribed to them. They should be made aware of the risks and side effects, if any. They have the right to ask questions and clarify their doubts about the treatment.

• Patients have the right to maintain confidentiality regarding their illness and can expect the same from the doctors.

• Patients have the right to a second opinion if they are doubtful about the medicines or treatment suggested.

• Patients have the right to know what a suggested operation/surgery is for, and the possible risks involved. If he/she is unconscious or unable to make the decision due to other reasons, informed consent needs to be taken from their nearest relatives.

4. What is Medical Negligence?

Negligence means carelessness or a lack of proper care and attention. To constitute negligence three elements must be fulfilled:-

· Firstly there must be duty to take care on the part of the opposite party towards the complainant.

· There must be a breach of that duty.

· Damage or injury by the complainant as a result of such breach.

5. What medical negligence may include.

· Misdiagnosis

· Damage to Organ due to negligence

· Over treating a medical condition

· Surgical errors

· Maternity and Delivery Errors

· Infections

· Documents not provided

· Wrong medical reports

6. When is a doctor not negligent?

· A doctor is not guilty of negligence if he has acted in accordance with a practice that is accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical persons skilled in that particular area.

· When a doctor chooses one option out of five established under Medical Science.

· When a doctor refers to literature based on established Medical Science.

7. Can a doctor guarantee complete success of the medical treatment?

No, the doctor cannot guarantee complete success of medical treatment as the same would differ in case to case depending on the age and health of the patient, the stage of the ailment and the body response of the patient.

8.How can a complaint can be made in case of medical negligence or mal practice.

When a consumer has any complaint / grievance against a Doctor / Hospital (either Government or Private) or a Nursing Home, he should take a second opinion from a doctor having expertise in the same field, and if the opinion indicates a case of negligence, he can follow the following process for redressal:

· Tier: 1

Send a complaint in writing to the Medical Superintendent (M.S) of the concerned Hospital with a copy to Chief Medical Officer (CMO)/ Civil Surgeon of his area.

· Tier 2:

If there is no reply or he is not satisfied with the reply of the concerned official, then he should send his written complaint to the State Medical Council (SMC) -

https://www.nmc.org.in/information-desk/state-medical-councils/list-of-state-medical-councils

If he is not satisfied with the reply of SMC then he can send a written complaint to the National Medical Commission - https://www.nmc.org.in/complaints

· Tier 3:

In case the consumer has not received a satisfactory response from the all of the above, he/she may file case with Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, following the procedure prescribed by them. For more information, you may visit http://www.ncdrc.nic.in/districtlist.html