Gurgaon: If a patient or family believes a district medical negligence board has got it wrong, where can they appeal? Haryana’s human rights commission (HHRC) has put forth this question before the state govt, saying there is currently no clearly defined mechanism to challenge such findings and directing the health department to provide an effective remedy.“Mere existence of a district-level mechanism for examination of complaints cannot be treated as an effective remedy against the board’s decision,” it observed.The state govt constituted these medical boards through a notification in May 2017, and modified it in Feb 2018. The boards can examine complaints of medical negligence against govt and private doctors and hospitals, call for medical records, inspect premises and seek independent medical opinions. But in its Aug 26 report before the commission, the health department clarified that there was no provision for appeal, review or revision against their findings.The department also argued that a separate state-level appellate authority could cause duplication and delay. The commission rejected this, saying an appeal would come after the district proceedings and therefore be “a successive stage of adjudication, not a parallel proceeding”.The commission also pulled up the director-general of health services (DGHS) for failing to take concrete steps despite an earlier direction in this regard. “An aggrieved person cannot be left remediless merely because a district-level mechanism already exists,” it said, calling for a “clearly defined, independent and structured appellate recourse”.The issue arose from complaint No. 514/17/2023 concerning a woman’s death. In an April 21 order, the commission noted that the Rewari medical negligence board found lack of due care by paramedical staff on duty, resulting in the patient’s death. It criticised the govt’s move to merely transfer a few officials and recommended compensation for the woman’s legal heirs and newborn child.The commission had subsequently asked whether rules existed for challenging a district board’s opinion. The DGHS said no formal mechanism existed.In its Aug 27 order, the commission again recommended an appellate remedy and sought a specific action-taken report. The additional chief secretary of health and family welfare, medical education and research and Ayush, along with the DGHS, must explain the steps taken at the next hearing on Jan 21, 2027.
