Irked over wife's death, academician wants doctors' licence revoked

Guwahati, June 22: A senior Assam-based academician, whose wife died due to medical negligence at a Delhi-based hospital in 2015, on Thursday urged the Assam Medical Council to cancel the medical licence of the two doctors involved in the treatment of the victim.

The demand by Ankuran Dutta, serving as the head of Journalism Department at Gauhati University, comes after a disciplinary committee of the Delhi Medical Council ordered two doctors, Chandan Kumar Deka and Abhijit Khaund, to be removed from the State Medical Register for medical negligence.

The two doctors are currently practising at the national capital-based Golden Jaipur Hospital and Navjivan Hospital and are also registered under the Assam Medical Council.

Thirty-six-year-old Anamika Ray -- a senior faculty at Gauhati University -- died on July 19, 2015 in Jaipur Golden Hospital, New Delhi, after a gall bladder operation at Navjeevan Hospital in New Delhi. 

Dutta said that initially the doctors said that his wife died of pre-existing heart-related issues, but evidence later suggested that it was a case of medical negligence and ignorance.

"As declared by the Disciplinary Committee of the Delhi Medical Council, the two doctors accused of medical negligence Chandan Kumar Deka (Delhi Medical Council Registration No.24331) and Abhijit Khaund (Delhi Medical Council Registration No.15761) have been removed from the State Medical Register of the Delhi Medical Council," Dutta said.

However, stating that though the verdict came as a relief to many who had been victims of medical negligence in the country, Dutta said that he had also requested the Assam Medical Council to take necessary action against both doctors as they were also registered with them.

"Annually 5.2 million medical injuries are recorded in India, leading to a loss of around 3 million years of healthy lives, due to medical negligence each year," Dutta said quoting a Harvard School of Public Health report.

The victim Anamika Ray was an eminent academician with more than 10 books, 30 research papers, 100 articles in national and international platforms to her credit and a renowned media educator of the country.