Guwahati, May 23: An octogenarian died at a nursing home here last night allegedly after taking medicines prescribed by a city-based doctor.

Asked what medicine he had administered, the doctor, Debojit Borthakur, today refused to reveal the name, saying he was "God for the locality".

The patient, Susendra Nath Gogoi, 84, was slated to undergo a kneecap surgery at East End Nursing Home and Research Institute, located at Bamunimaidam, this morning.

Gogoi's son Keshav Chandra, said, "My father was old but fine otherwise. On Friday, he fell from a tool and fractured his kneecap after which we admitted him to the nursing home. Last night, he said he was feeling fine. He had his dinner and took his medicines."

"After having the medicines that had been prescribed at the nursing home Dr Debojit Borthakur, he started feeling warm and developed respiratory trouble. Soon his condition worsened and Dr Borthakur was called in. He gave him an injection and within minutes he died," Keshav said.

When asked by The Telegraph what he had administered, Borthakur said, "I will not reveal the medicine's name. Nor will I say what medical action I have taken. I am not obliged to give that information. If anyone wants that information, one will have to file an RTI or a case at the consumer board on grounds of medical negligence," he said.

"I am God for the locality. I save lives and I take my job very sincerely. Now that an over-aged man has died, my integrity is being questioned. Go ask the people around, they think I am their God," he added.

Legal experts dealing with the Consumer Act, under which doctors fall too, however, differed with Borthakur.

"The doctor or certified physician who issued the prescription and administered the medicines is obliged to give that information. They are service providers and the recipient has the right to know what they are being given. The doctor must reveal if he had conducted the required tests before giving the medicine. If not, the person will be guilty of medical negligence," Bhaskar Dev Konwar, a lawyer at Gauhati High Court and an expert in Consumer's Act, said.

The family members of the deceased lodged an FIR at Chandmari police station last night. The body was also sent for post-mortem last night. It was cremated today.

The Assam Branch of Indian Medical Association, a voluntary organisation of doctors, had only last week urged the state government to verify reports of alleged medical errors and negligence.

The plea was made following widespread media reports about medical negligence in the state such as the allegation by a child's father that his son had tested positive for HIV after blood transfusion at the GMCH, the Association's honorary secretary, Satyajit Borah, said.

The patient's relatives and neighbours, who arrived in large numbers at the hospital after his death last night, today alleged that there was no staff in the nursing home. Sources in the hospital said the staff had locked themselves in a room on the first floor when they saw the belligerent crowd.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

♦ A patient or his family can file cases of medical negligence and poor service against erring doctors under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
♦ The complainant can approach the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum against erring doctors
♦ If unhappy with ruling of district authority, the complainant can approach the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission