‘Prescription of allopathic drugs by ayurvedic doctor amounts to negligence’

“A doctor should not play with the lives of people for his personal gain,” the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) stated on Monday, while holding that prescribing allopathic drugs amounts to negligence on part of an ayurveda practitioner

“A doctor should not play with the lives of people for his personal gain,” the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) stated on Monday, while holding that prescribing allopathic drugs amounts to negligence on part of an ayurveda practitioner.

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Pandurang Gamare was taken to ayurveda practitioner Dr RR Singh’s clinic at Hanuman Nagar in Kandivli on August 20, 2004. Though the civic employee’s condition was critical, Dr Singh admitted him in his clinic and administered drugs to him.

After prescribing allopathic drugs, Singh left Gamare at the mercy of his compounder at night. At 3am, when his condition deteriorated, the compounder administered certain drugs to him without calling the doctor that led to his death.

Gamare’s wife Pratibha then approached a city consumer forum, which dismissed her plea for compensation. The Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, however, reversed the order and held the doctor guilty of medical negligence primarily for prescribing allopathic drugs despite being an ayurveda practitioner and directed Singh to pay an amount of Rs7 lakh to the complainant widow as compensation.

Taking note of an affidavit filed by an expert, which stated that Gamare should have been shifted to a hospital with an intensive care unit, the bench comprising justice JM Malik and Suresh Chandra dismissed his petition. The NCDRC upheld the state commission’s order of November 24, 2011, holding Singh guilty of medical negligence.