For brief history of the case, my mother Mrs. Gomti Devi, aged 70 years, Resident of House No. 883, VPO Dhandari Kalan, Distt. Ludhiana got operated her right eye for glaucoma from Dr Ashok Gupta, M.D. (Opth), 531-H I G (L), Jamalpur Colony, Ludhiana. The doctor’s treatment continued from 7.6.2008 to 22.8.2008. But my mother being illiterate and old aged had in mind that after operation, the vision of the eye should become clear. As she was not satisfied with the vision in the operated eye, she desired to seek second opinion of another doctor. Our misfortune took us to Dr Rajesh Batra, (M.B.B.S, D.O.M.S.) Eye Surgeon who owned two clinics one at Dehlon Road, Opp Aarti Marriage Palace, Sahnewal and the other at 20-R, Model Town, Ludhiana. We went to Dr Batra on 23.08.2008 for check up of the right eye’s less vision after glaucoma’s operation and showed the treatment given by Dr Gupta. After examining, Dr Batra misguided us that the right eye’s operation was not done correctly by Dr Ashok Gupta M.D. (Opth) and he would re-operate the right eye with laser technique. He guaranteed clear vision for right eye after re-operation and treated my mother as his own mother. Dr Batra ill-advised us that any delay may damage the eye sight. We relied upon the expert advice of the doctor and agreed for re-operation of right eye with laser. The doctor took my mother in his own car immediately on the same day and told me to reach at his Model Town Hospital. Even though I had no money to bear the operation charges of Rs. 11, 000/-, the doctor told us, “Don’t delay the operation in order to save the right eye’s vision, you can pay his operation fee later’. At that point of time, I thought that Dr Batra was a good samaritan who did not care about his payment and was ready to carry the patient in his own car without my request. It was only after a few days that I discovered that his ‘good gestures’ were only a ploy to trap the innocent, gullible and illiterate people and his poorly equipped clinic at Sahnewal was used only as a bait. He has named his clinic as ‘Batra Eye Hospital’ but there was no surgical facility.
Actually, Dr Batra had hoodwinked us into believing that he would operate on right eye whereas he had already made up his mind at Sahnewal to operate on left eye without our consent. It was a ploy adopted by him to take my mother at his hospital at Model Town, Ludhiana on the pretext of operating on the right eye. At the last moment, Dr Batra changed his opinion at Model Town Hospital and said that he would operate upon the left eye instead of right eye as it too had severe glaucoma. The doctor persuaded us to go ahead with the operation to save the left eye’s vision. Before my coming to his Model Town Hospital, the doctor got signed on the blank proforma from my mother for undergoing operation and did not get it signed from me as I was the attendant of the patient at that time. The doctor discharged the patient after 20 minutes operation saying that he had done left eye’s glaucoma operation and the operation was successful. On the next day, we gave payment of operation charges of Rs. 11, 000/- to the doctor and in addition we also made payment of medicines of about Rs. 1200/- which he gave from his stock of medicines. But after a few days, my mother had a hazy vision and black spots in her left eye operated by Dr Batra. The treatment of Dr Batra continued from 23.08.2008 to 03.10.2008 and we visited six times for eye check up and continued the medication as advised by him. On each visit, the doctor repeatedly told us to agree for the re-operation of the right eye for which we did not agree since we were not satisfied with his earlier operation and doctor paid least concern to the repeated complaint of hazy vision in the operated eye of my mother. On 26.9. Dr Batra reacted angrily to my mother as she was complaining time and again of hazy vision and did not agree to right eye’s re-operation as he wanted to mint another Rs. 18, 000/-. (Rs. 11, 000/- for operation charges and Rs. 7, 000 for post operative expenses). That day’s behaviour (26.9.08) upset my mother and on reaching home, she cursed herself for getting the doctor’s treatment and came under tension owing to another problem in the left eye which was normal before the operation. I consoled her not to worry and get her eyes checked from another doctor.
I solicited the advice of another doctor. This time, I took my mother to Dr G.S. Bajwa, Professor and Head, Deptt. of Opthalmology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana on 4.10.2008. Dr Bajwa after examining my mother’s eyes gave his expert opinion as under:-
‘The right eye’s vision is in order and does not require re-operation whereas only lens had been fitted in the left eye.’
The expert opinion given by Dr Bajwa totally differed with the diagnose of Dr Batra. We were shocked to know that how Dr Batra charged shamelessly Rs. 18, 000/- for telling us for performing glaucoma operation in the left eye but forcibly fitted a lens which was neither required nor we consented for it.
I complained against the doctor to the Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana vide my complaint dated 21.10.2008 regarding cheating by Dr Rajesh Batra, Eye Surgeon, Batra Eye Hospital, Sahnewal. The Civil Surgeon constituted an Enquiry Committee which submitted its report on 16.12.2008. The Committee found Dr Rajesh Batra guilty on the following points:-
i) Dr Rajesh Batra did not possess the registration of his Diploma in Ophthalmic, Medicine & Surgery (D.O.M.S.) certificate at the time of operation of my mother.
Dr Batra got registered his D.O.M.S. certificate from the Punjab Medical Council, Mohali on 1.12.2008. Thus without his registration, he could not do practice as an Eye Surgeon. So far, he had been doing illegal practice upto 30.11.2008. During this period, he also performed my mother’s operation in a fraudulent way.
ii) The Enquiry Committee has also pinpointed a lapse on the part of Dr Batra and has observed that the consent obtained by him was not in order.
Dr Batra never got consent for fitting a lens in the left eye which was fraudulently and forcibly fitted by him on the pretext of glaucoma operation with laser technique.
iii) The Enquiry Committee also found Dr Batra guilty of pressurizing the patient for re-operation of right eye.
It is pertinent to mention here that the repeated advice of Dr Batra for re-operation of right eye was contrary to the advice given by an eminent eye specialist i.e. Dr G.S. Bajwa in whose opinion that “re-operation of the right eye would damage the eye”.
In its report, the Enquiry Committee observed that the operation of the left eye performed by Dr Batra was in order. These observations are unfair and unwarranted since I never questioned in my complaint that the operation performed by Dr Batra was not in order. I complained against cheating by the doctor i.e.by misguiding first reoperation of the right eye and then changing his expert opinion for doing left eye’s glaucoma operation which he actually did not perform and fitted a lens forcibly without our consent just to mint money. Further, the findings of the Enquiry Committee reveal that Dr Batra was not having his registration of additional qualification of Diploma in Ophthalmic Medicine and Surgery (D.O.M.S.) from the Punjab Medical Council on the date of the operation so it shows that the Enquiry committee favoured Dr Batra by mentioning that the operation of left eye performed by him was in order even though the committee found him guilty on three points.
The Civil Surgeon after accepting the report vide his memo No. Steno-08/1527 dated 19.12.2008 forwarded it to the Director, Health and Family Welfare Department, Punjab, Chandigarh for further action. But I regret to state that the Health Department, Punjab has failed to take any action against the doctor even after a lapse of about one year. My requests to the Director, Heath Department, Chandigarh, Punjab Medical Council, Mohali and Prof. Laxmikanta Chawla, Health Minister Punjab for action against the guilty doctor remained un-noticed. In addition, the Punjab Medical Council, Mohali also initiated a parallel enquiry of Dr Batra on my separate complaint. I have sent them all the relevant papers but I have not heard any thing till now in this regard from PMC. I request you to kindly help me to get justice to my mother in the matter.
Thanking you.
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