Herald: Sir, do you admit to the illegal practice of clinical trials taking place in GMC?
D’Souza: Yes! It is a practice that has been taking place across the country and in GMC too. It is not new. It has been undertaken for decades now, without any checks, transparency and accountability. Now it stands exposed. This is an illegal practice, where crores of rupees are invested at the cost of one’s life. The pulmonary medicine department is not just the only department where such practice is been undertaken, but in almost every department of GMC, it is rampant. We have a list of all such departments. We will be investigating all those cases and action will be initiated.
Herald: So you mean, these practices are not illegal. They are legally approved.
D’Souza: As far as GMC is concerned, the ethical committee of the hospital allows the doctors to undertake clinical trials on human subjects with sponsorship from international and national pharma companies. The shocking part here is that the patients are kept in the dark about the clinical trials done on them. Even the government is not informed. There is no transparency in the system at all.
Herald: Is this not against the ethics? The patients are used by doctors for their clinical trials without their consent. What if the patient dies or it leads to some other major illness?
D’Souza: That is exactly what the government’s view is. The patient and his relative’s consent is a must before undertaking such an exercise. Who should be held responsible if tomorrow he/she dies due to these clinical trials. On whom should the accountability be fixed? The GMC Ethical Committee is also not clear on this. Just for profit, one cannot risks a patient’s life. They are doctors and it’s their duty to save the life of every patient coming to them.
Herald: What government intends to do? Are there any plans to put this system in place?
D’Souza: I will not disclose everything at this stage. But this is a very serious issue and the government is also very serious about it. I have directed the GMC to submit a detailed report on the matter. Prima facie we have observed that money received from pharma companies for clinical trials and research is deposited in the personal bank accounts of the doctors, and no audit accounts are maintained. The Government intends to formulate a proper policy to put the entire system in place. We want to bring transparency in the system and we also want to fix accountability. These doctors being government servants are accountable to the State. The policy will speak about making doctors accountable to the government as far as clinical trials are concerned.
