Uncertainty looms large on the fate of around 500 cases of medical negligence in the state as Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC), a quasi-judicial body of 85,000 doctors in the state, is set to be dissolved based on the decision taken by the state government a week back.
There were a total of 1,200 cases of medical negligence out of which around 700 cases have been successfully settled till date, according to an MMC official.
In order to fast-track these cases, the state council had created three ethical committees that hear cases and present its report to the executive committee to take the final decision.
The MMC official said that cases continued to be filed with the Council but they remained unheard during the last 12 years as it remained defunct.
The state council remained defunct from 1998 to 2010 following a Bombay High Court (HC) order which suspended the body due to irregularities in the election of members and maintenance of Council register. There were no cases registered for the past four to five years when it was defunct from 1998 to 2010.
The Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 stipulates an executive committee appointed by the MMC to meet once in two months to take a decision and subsequent action against any medical practitioner found guilty.
Meanwhile, MMC is upset over the state government serving notice to them for irregularities in its administration and over its appointing a registrar without election followed with a consultative process.
What has further accentuated the rumblings within the council is that the state government has also delayed in suitably replying to the Bombay High Court (HC) based on a petition filed by the council on matters related to notification of elections and appointment of registrar contrary to what has been stipulated in the MMC Act.
Many cases of medical negligence were settled under the premise that effective communication between doctor and patient was lacking wherein the patient was brought at the point of care beyond the time when the diseased condition proved fatal and no prompt clinical decisions worked out at that point in time.
The MMC is the state branch of the Medical Council of India (MCI) that regulates ethical practices of allopathic doctors. Any doctor who wish to start practice has to first register with the MMC for a licence. The MMC can cancel or suspend the licence if the doctor is found indulging in any unethical practice. By taking care of medical cases, it also ensures less burden on courts.