TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The government should enact suitable legislation to help protect the rights of patients and their families who have to suffer for the rest of their lives if their hip replacement or other orthopaedic surgeries go awry due to faulty implants, Francis Fernandes who is himself suffering from such a predicament along has said in a letter to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
In his letter, Fernandes has pointed out how patients who receive a faulty hip implant currently have no recourse under law especially if the doctors are from powerful private hospitals.
Fernandes along with five others, who suffer a similar predicament, had earlier written to the President’s secretariat in New Delhi citing that it was an issue of infringement of fundamental rights. The President’s Secretariat then referred the matter to the Bombay High Court, which in turn wrote to the Chief Secretary, Government of Goa with a note that the prayers of petition are concerning the powers of the legislature.
They are seeking government regulation of private hospitals, through legislation, in order to ensure better accountability from private hospitals in cases as serious as this.
However, till date the Government of Goa has not shown any inclination towards enacting legislation for the protection of such patients.
Patients whose hip replacement or other orthopaedic replacement surgeries have gone wrong due to a faulty implant are either unable to walk, or if lucky they an walk with a limp for the rest of rest of their lives. In rare cases these even result in death.
Fernandes had undergone a hip replacement surgery in a private hospital in Margao, which turned out unsuccessful. After two years he had to undergo a corrective total hip replacement surgery at Goa Medical College, because of which he is been able to walk again.
