The legal remedies to ensure proper medical care in Bangladesh
Negligence in healthcare in the country can be reduced if people are aware of their legal rights. They must know that hospital authorities are legally bound to give proper services to patients
Healthcare is an essential issue in a populous country like Bangladesh. If health services cannot be ensured, people's quality of life can be at risk. Considering Bangladesh's economic structure, the government relies heavily on government and private institutions to ensure health services.
According to the 2021 data from the Directorate General of Health, the number of public hospitals in Bangladesh is 654, with only 51,316 beds, and private hospitals are 5,055 in number with 1,05,183 beds.
Analysing the above data, we can see that more than 63% of the patients are provided medical care by private hospitals. That is, the healthcare of a large population depends on private institutions.
Due to the shortage of beds in government hospitals and the shortage of skilled physicians and healthcare service providers, people's enthusiasm towards private hospitals is increasing.
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Along with that, the number of private hospitals, clinics, and diagnostic centres is also increasing. But among these, most institutions are not up to standard. As a result, the general public is exposed to negligence in healthcare.
Negligence in medical care is widespread in Bangladesh. So, everyone must have complete knowledge about it and the legal remedies to ensure proper medical care. Some notable examples of negligence in healthcare are discussed below.
Negligence during surgeries can be a typical example. There are also cases of gauze or scissors left inside the patient's abdomen during the operation. According to media sources, another prevalent complaint is doctors beginning treatment without making a proper diagnosis, which results in wrong treatment for the patient.
Several news reports have been published recently where it is stated that doctors are more interested in caesarean sections than normal delivery of pregnant women in Bangladesh.
Due to the increase in the number of caesarean cases, complaints of death or permanent damage to mothers are heard more often. Sometimes, hospitals do not maintain hygiene, thus resulting in infections.
Private hospitals need to employ more staff to reduce official costs. They must have adequate nurses, midwives etc so that work distribution is equal and patients get good service. We often hear cases of misbehaviour from hospital staff including doctors and nurses and when patients protest, they are harassed or abused.
The people of Bangladesh are often deprived of legal remedies due to a lack of adequate knowledge about the law. Section 304A, Section 336, Section 337, and Section 338 of the Penal Code states that criminal proceedings are available against the hospital authorities, doctors, nurses, or any other person concerned for negligence in healthcare. Certain persons will be punished according to the prescribed clauses if the charges are proven.
However, Sections 80 and 88 of the Penal Code also provide for the defence of the doctors accused of criminal liability.
The Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council Act 2010 prescribes a specific code of conduct. If the registered doctor violates the code of conduct, their registration or license as a practitioner may be cancelled under Section 23 of the said Act.
Section 9 of the Medical Practice and Private Clinics and Laboratories (Control) Ordinance, 1982, states that full-time registered medical practitioners and nurses shall staff private clinics. Otherwise, the authorities can act against the private clinic owner, as mentioned in sections 13 and 14.
Private hospitals provide services to patients in excahnge of money. So, the hospital authorities are obliged to provide complete services to the patients according to the Consumer Protection Act 2009.
If they fail to provide full service after accepting payment from the patient, it will be liable for criminal prosecution under section 53 of the said Act. In that case, the victim can claim civil remedy for negligence in health care under section 66.
In addition, the victim can claim remedies under tort law for negligence in health care. If the victim can prove under the tort law that any health service was neglected by an employee of the hospital while on duty, then the victim will get a remedy from the hospital authorities.
Finally, Article 15 of our constitution includes medical care as a basic necessity, and Article 32 makes our right to life mandatory. If there is any threat to the patient's life, the patient can, if necessary, file a writ in the High Court under Article 102 of the constitution of Bangladesh.
Awareness of the law is necessary to reduce negligence in healthcare to a great extent. Every person's legal right to healthcare requires a sincere attempt from the authority to implement the law.
Al Mustashim Nobi Niku completed his LLB (Hons) and LLM from the University of Asia Pacific.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.
