KOCHI: Expressing concern over the incident in which a doctor entered government health service using a fake PG certificate, the Kerala High Court on Thursday held that steps should be taken to verify the education certificates of all government doctors in service, if necessary.
“This is not to demoralise the hard-working doctors in the state, who are our strength and pride. It is only to make sure that culprits are not there in the profession and also to build confidence in society,” said Justice P V Kunhikrishnan.
The court directed the state government to submit its views on the aspect on or before September 4. The court said certain guidelines are necessary to ensure that appointment orders of medical practitioners are issued to selected candidates only after getting their educational certificates verified and authenticated by the universities/institutions that have been issued to them.
It also directed the state police chief to constitute a special team to probe the case in which Dr T S Seema, a former gynaecologist at Karunagappally Taluk Hospital, submitted a fake PG certificate to join the service. The issue came to light after a newborn died due to alleged lapses on the part of the doctor.
File action taken report in a month: HC
The Cherthala native doctor was subsequently suspended from service.
The court issued the order on a petition filed by the newborn’s parents, Sabu T and Sreedevi, seeking compensation of Rs 20 lakh for medical negligence. They also sought a directive to recover the amount from the doctor.
The petitioners said they enquired about the academic credentials and qualifications of the doctor following suspicion regarding her competency. Seema claimed to have obtained MBBS and MS in obstetrics and gynaecology. To a query filed under the Right to Information Act, the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science, Seva Gram, Maharashtra, from where the doctor claimed to have obtained her master’s degree, replied that she was admitted to the institute for a DGO course during 2008-2010.
She failed in the course and did not complete it, said the reply stated, adding that the certificates produced by Seema were not issued by the university.
Further, it revealed that Seema has submitted forged documents and misused the name of Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik. The court said, “it is prima facie clear from the communication itself that the doctor committed serious criminal offences.”
The court directed the state police chief to file the action taken report within one month. Regarding the compensation, the court said, “The government shall file an affidavit about the quantum of compensation that can be paid to the petitioners within one month.”