Corrosion of the Code of Medical Ethics

Losing my younger brother five years ago due to negligence and apathy of the health care workers of a reputed clinical establishment of Kolkata, accredited with Joint Commission International, is an irreparable loss but even more painful has been the long journey to fight for justice in West Bengal Medical Council. Being a senior doctor, going through the decision letter of West Bengal Medical Council, I was perplexed as well as amused by the naivety with which the case was investigated by WBMC in the past five years and then concluded. The mental trauma I have gone through over this period and then to have this verdict, made me ponder over it and the code of medical ethics. Going through the file of my deceased brother when I visited him in NICU, was like the opening of Pandora's Box, because tumbling out from it came the proof of gross negligence and the efforts to cover the tracks of the same. The conduct of reputed doctors of this clinical establishment and of the WBMC has compelled me to conclude that public health is becoming a business endeavor in our country with no respect for the human life.