CELINAMOL MATHEW Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner, who was a nurse attached to the Taluk Headquarters Hospital, Cherthala, is charge-sheeted under Sec. 304A of the Indian Penal Code (for short, IPC) alleging medical negligence on her part while treating a patient. The question to be decided is whether a nurse can be prosecuted under Sec. 304A IPC alleging medical negligence merely based on the oral statement of some witness without an expert opinion from an expert body.

(2.) If anybody is admitted in a hospital as a patient or is there as bystanders of patients, they will definitely express their appreciation to the nurses caring for different patients by folding their hands in respect. The devotion, hard work and readiness to face any medical emergency of the patient day and night by the nursing community is to be appreciated by the society. Nursing is not just a job, its a calling. They are known as the backbone of the health care system. Nurses don't just care for patients, they care about patients. Florence Nightingale, an English social reformer and the founder of modern nursing, is renowned for her dedication to healthcare reform and her compassionate approach to patient care, leaving an indelible mark on the nursing profession and public health. Her unwavering commitment to patient care portrays the fact that the nurses' role is not just to treat the disease but to care for the patients. To do what nobody else will do, in a way nobody else can do is the nurses' way. Nursing is an art and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion. As I said earlier, if any of us are admitted in a hospital we can understand the devotion and hard work of nurses in the hospital. They work day and night and they spent most of the time with their patients. The time spent by a doctor with the patients is less when compared to the time spent by a nurse with a patient. An experienced nurse can do wonders to a patient than an experienced doctor in some medical emergency situations. Therefore, the nurses also deserve care, protection and also moral support from the society while doing their duty.

(3.) The Apex Court in Jacob Mathew v. State of Punjab [2005 KHC 1045] observed that, the Investigating Officer in criminal cases should, before proceeding against the doctor accused of rash or negligent act or omission, obtain an independent and competent medical opinion preferably from a doctor in Government service qualified in that branch of medical practice who can normally be expected to give an impartial and unbiased opinion to the facts collected in the investigation. Why not the same principle be applicable to the nurses in the hospital who are spending their day and night with patience, for the well- being of their patients?