SUBHASH CHANDRA TIWARI Vs. WEST BENGAL MEDICAL COUNCIL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a doctor who completed his MBBS in the year 2004 and did Diploma in Tuberculosis and Chest Diseases (DTCD) in 2009 from the Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata. Thereafter, the petitioner did his MD in Tropical Medicine in 2013 from the School of Tropical Medicine at Kolkata. The petitioner has been working as an associate consultant in the critical care unit of the Gastroenterology Department of the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, Kolkata. On April 15, 2017, a minor child named Kuheli Chakroborty was admitted in the emergency room of the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital after being referred by the ESI Hospital, Joka as a case of passage of blood in stool since four days. The child was admitted under Dr. V.R. Srivastava (consultant pediatric surgeon) at bed no. P-20 of the pediatric ward of the hospital. The situation of the child was assessed by the on-duty pediatric doctor, who discussed with Dr. V.R. Srivastava, and, as per her advice the patient was referred to Dr. Vijay Rai (Gastroenterologist). On April 16, 2017, the child was seen by Dr. V.R. Srivastava and certain examinations were done as per her advice. Thereafter, later on the same day, the child was seen by Dr. S.C. Tiwari. The on-call Doctor from Gastroenterology Department, as asked by his Department, merely suggested Sigmoidoscopy to be done on April 17, 2017, Nil-per-mouth (NPM) for four hours with proper hydration, Enema (once) and certain blood and stool examinations.

(2.) In the evening of April 16, 2017 itself, Dr. V.R. Srivastava was informed regarding Sigmoidoscopy. Her advice was taken in that regard.

(3.) On April 17, 2017, Dr. V.R. Srivastava again saw the child and planned for Sigmoidoscopy, kept NPM from 11 a.m., and directed neotomic enema and the patient was started being administered IV fluid at 11 a.m. Thereafter, at 2.45 p.m. the same day, the Dr. S.C. Tiwari, after discussion with the HOD, informed the pediatric ward doctor and also Dr. V.R. Srivastava that in view of no definite polyp having been found in the rectal examination, a decision was taken to do full length Colonoscopy on the next day after proper preparation.