We , at FOGSI, are extremely pained at what happenned at Anand hospital in Rajasthan .
A patient died at the hospital of complications of delivery . We understand that the family gets devastated at the loss of a pregnant woman who leaves behind a new born . We also understand the need for the police to take action against those people who are culprits if negligence has happened .
The clause for medical negligence is invoked in such cases . But the Police there erred in invoking the provision of intent to murder. This led the doctor so accused to feel humiliated and victimised leading to her committing suicide out of shame & frustration .
Dr Archana Sharma has given a supreme sacrifice just to draw the attention of the law makers & law enforcers to give protection to the healthcare workers who toil day & night neglecting their own health & family in order that somebody who they are not even related too is saved . The honourable Supreme Court in its profound wisdom has also passed many judgments , the chief of which are the judgments in the Kusum Sharma vs Batra hospital & Jacob Mathew vs State of Punjab Wherein it has been amply clarified that no action can be taken against any doctor under the Criminal Act without taking the opinion of the expert Medical board . We believe that prevention is better than cure . If the medical fraternity is not allowed to practice without the sword of such allegations hanging on their heads in case of an inadvertant death , no doctor will be willing to take the risk involved in saving lives .
*We request you to please inform the various police stations of the procedures to be followed in cases where sudden death happens in a hospital as well as the repercussions of not doing so . *
We also request you to take proactive & preventive measures so that we doctors are able to take that one step ahead and save that one extra life , rather than not take the risk at all and lose lives for frivolous causes due fear of litigations & violence .
In law , a punishment is not given unless the commision of crime proven beyond any doubt . Here a precious life of a doctor who could have saved many other lives was lost because of rash action by the law enforcers in pronouncing her guilty of a known complication .

We vociferously condemn what happenned in Rajasthan and strongly make a demand that appropriate action is taken against the concerned relatives & police officers for abettment to suicide . There is no point in having a law passed for protection of the healthcare workers if enforcement is not efficient & effective . Remedial measures have to be put in place at the earliest to prevent the medical practioners from coming to the streets in a nation wide demonstration demanding protection and justice . We shall be left with no other alternative as the courts have passed ample judgements & law makers ample laws , but the law enforcement is lacking !

PRESIDENT &
TEAM FOGSI