Nepal: Doctors announce boycott of non-emergency services; thousands left without treatment

Kathmandu, July 7 (IANS) Thousands of patients across Nepal will be left without medical care on Monday as the Nepal Medical Association (NMA), the umbrella body of medical doctors, has announced a nationwide boycott of medical services except for emergency care.

The protest comes for the second time in two months in response to the recent verdicts of the Consumer Court of the country that imposed heavy penalties on doctors found guilty of gross negligence in treatments leading to serious complications and patient death, local media reported.

"The situation has escalated in such a dramatic way that we can no longer continue our work smoothly. Doctors cannot pay millions of rupees in fines for trying to save lives, and our experience shows that authorities do not listen unless we resort to stern protests," leading Nepalese newspaper, The Kathmandu Post, reported, quoting Anil Bikram Karki, president of the association, as saying.

Reports suggest that the recent court ruling slapped hefty penalties on three private hospitals in Nepal -- Rs 5.68 million on the Chabahil-based Om Hospital (8 per cent to the hospital and 20 per cent to the doctors involved); Rs 5.7 million on Grande City Clinic (Rs 4 million to the doctors and Rs 1.7 million to hospital); and Rs 14.5 million on Himal Hospital (70 per cent to the doctors and 30 per cent to hospital).

"Halting hospital services and depriving ailing patients of treatment has become a major tool for the association to put pressure on the government to meet its demands. Without knowing what the Consumer Court's verdicts actually say, the NMA and its member doctors are again depriving patients of treatment, which in itself is a serious crime," said Jyoti Baniya, chairman of the Forum for the Protection of Consumer Rights-Nepal.

"The details of the verdicts are yet to be made public, and they have already started punishing patients. Courts have long been issuing verdicts in cases of gross negligence and have also slapped fines against those found guilty," Baniya added.

Experts, as well as former office-bearers of the Nepal Medical Council, condemned the boycott of medical services, stating that protests against court verdicts cannot be justified under any circumstances.

"Patients and their relatives have the right to seek legal remedies if they feel they or their patients have been harmed due to medical negligence. The council's investigations have shown sheer negligence by doctors, and actions have been taken," said a former office bearer of the Nepal Medical Council, on condition of anonymity.

"Not all doctors are equally competent, and no doctor can guarantee that there will be no negligence from their fellow doctors. Are we again encouraging the public to take the law into their own hands by depriving them of the right to go to court?" said another former council member.

Earlier in April, in a similar demonstration, non-emergency services remained shut across the South Asian country following a nationwide protest called by the NMA.

The association then took the step in solidarity with resident doctors pursuing MD/MS degrees in private colleges, who had been demanding allowances equal to those of government-owned colleges.

--IANS

int/scor/sd