Andhra Pradesh High Court okays Medical Council of India's suspension order

Hyderabad: The High Court has upheld a decision by the Medical Council of India and the Andhra Pradesh Medical Council to suspend Dr Goli Venkateshwar Rao, managing director of Sri Sairam Multispeciality Hospital here, for medical negligence.

The doctor was suspended from practice for a year by the council, for employing non-allopathic doctors in the hospital to treat patients. Bharath Kumar, a patient suffering from kidney problems, was under Dr Rao’s treatment from February 2013. He was admitted to the hospital but during the night when his condition deteriorated, the duty doctor, Dr Ahmed Pasha, who was a BAMS Ayurvedic medical practitioner, decided he could not evaluate the case properly.

Dr Rao was consulted telephonically and asked to come over. He said he would come but never turned up. By early morning the patient’s condition had deteriorated and Dr Rao asked Mr Kumar to be shifted to a multi-specialty hospital as he required critical care.

Doctors at Lotus Hospital stated that the patient was in a very critical condition and they were not sure if the patient would survive. They admitted the patient and began treatment but by evening the patient died.

The MCI and AP Medical Council found willful negligence on the part of the doctor who had failed to come and see the patient at night and who had also employed non-allopathic doctors on duty, who could not understand the patient’s medical condition.The High Court upheld the order and validated the suspension order.