The Allahabad High Court directed the Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday to frame a policy to prohibit the private practice of doctors posted in the hospitals run by the state government. The direction was given by a bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal during the hearing of a petition filed by Dr Arvind Gupta, professor and head of department at Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj.
During the hearing, Justice Agarwal observed that doctors appointed in government hospitals are referring patients to private hospitals for treatment for money. “It has become a menace that the patients are being referred and dragged to the private nursing homes and hospitals for treatment, and the doctors who are appointed by the State Government either under the Provincial Medical Services or in the Stae Mecial Colleges are not treating and attending the patients in Medical Colleges and Government Hospitals, and just for the money they are being referred to private nursing homes and hospitals,” the Judge noted.
Dr Gupta filed the present petition regarding a complaint filed against him by a patient named Rupesh Chandra Srivastava before the State Consumer Forum for giving him the wrong treatment at a private nursing home.
The High Court asked the state whether the HOD of a government medical college could practice in a private nursing home
When the matter came up for hearing before the court on January 2, the court asked the state counsel to inform the court on the next hearing whether the Head of Department (HoD) and professor at Motilal Nehru College, Prayagrag is entitled to practice in a private nursing home. The court also ordered the state to find out how government doctors were involved in private practice. “It is a serious matter. The State shall also conduct an enquiry as to the Government doctors carrying on private practice in Nursing Homes and Medical shops, who are appointed in different state Medical Colleges, ” the court ordered.
The court further directed that the prohibition on private practice should be extended to all government doctors. “It is further directed that only the doctors, who are appointed in the State Medical Colleges, should comply with the Government Orders of 1983, but also Government should come out with a policy for stopping the private practice of the doctors who are appointed in the Provincial Medical Services and District Hospitals which are situated in the district headquarters throughout the State,” the court said.
The Court asked the Principal Secretary of Medical Health and Education to file a personal affidavit on the implementation of the 1983 rules. It was informed to the court on January 8 that the Principal Secretary had written a letter about 1983 rules, which relate to the private practice of doctors posted in medical colleges, to all the District Magistrates where the State medical colleges are situated. The matter will come up hearing next on February 10.
