Punishing doctors responsible for \\\'wrong treatment\\\'

The health minister, while speaking at a seminar in Dhaka last Sunday, raised an issue that until now has escaped the notice of the health sector policy-makers. It was about taking the doctors, responsible for wrong treatment, to task. The government is considering, as the minister disclosed, a move to amend the Bangladesh Dental and Medical Council (BMDC) Act to empower the Council with the authority to investigate into the allegations of 'wrong treatment' and punish the doctors concerned by cancelling their registration if the latter was found guilty.

Very often agitated relatives of the patients, who are allegedly the victims of wrong treatment by doctors, resort to violence and vandalise hospitals and clinics. Doctors and hospital authorities usually refute the allegations of wrongdoing. There is no way of knowing the truth about such allegations since no official initiative is taken to investigate the same. But there should have been a strong mechanism to find out the fact because the country's health system is fraught with so many unwanted developments and existence of scores of rickety health facilities where minimum standard is not maintained. Beside maltreatment by quacks and fake doctors, the patients at times become victims of deliberate negligence on the part of qualified physicians.

When detected, law enforcers take actions against fake doctors and nurses for their criminal activities. But if a patient suffers or dies due to the negligence of a qualified physician, the latter not only commits a criminal offence but also breaches the Hippocratic Oath. Yet the doctor concerned can easily get away with his or her crime for lack of evidence. Whether the doctor concerned was negligent or responsible for any wrong treatment cannot be found out by a law enforcer or a general investigator. Allegations about wrong treatment in particular would necessitate specialised investigation by professional people, having deep knowledge in medical science.

The proposed amendment to the BMDC Act should have a provision for constituting a probe or evaluation body with senior and qualified doctors, who command respect from the health professionals, and a few others from outside the profession. The presence of outsiders is considered necessary to dispel the fear that the physicians on the probe body could be sympathetic towards the cause of the fellow professionals accused of wrongdoing. The government deserves appreciation for picking up the issue of wrong treatment. But the ministry of health would do more good to the health sector and health professionals in particular if it takes steps to revamp the BMDC and enables it to uphold the ethical standards of medical professionals. However, any move towards such revamping or ensuring probe into allegations of wrong treatment or professional negligence is likely to face strong resistance. All concerned would like to cherish the hope at this stage that the government would overcome that and carry on with its effort to implement a good initiative.