BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday quashed an order by the Karnataka Medical Council regarding punishment of "warning" against a doctor for alleged lapse during angioplasty of an ailing patient.
"Vedic literature lauds medical practitioner and medicine as 'Vaidyo Naaraayano Harihi', meaning that a true doctor, as a healer, is God and that a true medicine is like the sacred water from the river Ganga. During the COVID pandemic, the way doctors and paramedics served our society does not fade away from public memory; society has to gratefully appreciate the valuable services rendered by the medicos... However, at times, being the victims, the medicos are made to apologise to the attackers and this led to the State enacting the Prevention of Violence Against Doctors, Medical Professionals and Medical Institutions Act, 2018," Justice Krishna S Dixit observed while allowing a decade-old petition filed by Dr Ganesh Nayak. For a doctor, service ought to be the motto and not profit, the court said, adding that any professional is not immune from legal action for medical negligence.
The court also expressed concern that the "compensation culture" is gradually entering medical services, affecting a healthy relations between doctor and patient. The courts have been observing that an unscrupulous section of people is prone to use any to sue doctors and hospitals to make quick money, the court added.