Kathmandu, September 18

The Council of Ministers today decided to formulate an act whereby doctors will have to compensate patients or their kin if found guilty of negligence during the course of treatment.

In a directive issued to the Ministry of Health, the Cabinet has asked it to draft a bill to curb negligence on the part of doctors, make them ethically responsible and ensure justice to patients.

Health minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel told THT, “It is necessary to find out reasons for patients’ deaths in hospitals. It may be due to the negligence of hospital management, lack of equipment in hospitals, or doctors’ negligence. Patients’ kin have a right to know that. We need to formulate an act to ensure that and curb such incidents of negligence,” Pokharel added.

“We are aware of the likely response to our decision. Before framing policies, the issue should be debated in the Nepali society,” Pokharel added.

Nepal Medical Association, meanwhile, has condemned the Cabinet’s decision to make negligent doctors compensate patients. It has given an ultimatum of 72 hours to the government to withdraw its decision. “We’ll shut hospitals nationwide if the decision is not withdrawn,” Dr Lochan Karki, secretary general of NMA, told THT.