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Sassoon Hospital to come up with SOP to handle medico-legal cases
Earlier, on May 29, the three-member committee appointed by the medical education department to probe the alleged tampering of blood samples
After lapses in handling of Porsche accident case, BJ Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) have established a five-member committee to develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) for handling Medico-Legal Cases (MLC), said officials.
Earlier, on May 29, the three-member committee appointed by the medical education department to probe the alleged tampering of blood samples in the Porsche accident case had found that the protocols for handling MLC cases were not followed.
The committee in its reports had mentioned casualty medical officer (CMO) Dr Shrihari Halnor didn’t follow the chain of custody of evidence while handling the case. Also, the medical superintendent and resident medical officer failed to monitor the MLC casework.
After Dr Chandrakant Mhaske, on May 31, took the additional charge as dean of BJMC and SGH, a five-member committee has been formed which will be headed by Dr Murlidhar Tambe, deputy dean and head of the community medicine department at BJMC, to come up with an SOP, informed the dean.
Dr Mhaske, said, “The committee will submit its report in a couple of days and the SOPs which will be implemented in the SGH for handling the MLC cases. We want to bring transparency while handling such cases at the hospital.”
“Along with this, there will be responsibility on the higher authority which will make them accountable during any lapses. This will help handle the MLC cases efficiently with transparency,” said Dr Tambe.
The BJMC and SGH officials have decided to have refresher training for the casualty medical officers, resident medical officers and hospital staff to undergo refresher training to handle MLC cases.
Separate registers and designated locations under CCTV surveillance for collecting samples for forensic tests amongst others will be established.
As the medical and forensic reports are crucial evidence for the police to handle the MLC cases the new SOPs will facilitate their investigations, said the officials.
