Cuttack, Aug. 26: The process of fixing liability to pay compensation for loss of eyesight of 16 persons following operation at a cataract surgical camp conducted by an NGO at a government hospital is apparently proving to be difficult for Orissa High Court.
However, that is expected to change at the next hearing by the two-judge bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra on Monday if the Orissa government complies, a court order and submits a report on implementation of the National Programme for Control of Blindness.
The court expected details on the number of NGOs involved in the programme implementation through the district blindness control societies, funds allocated to them and the monitoring process.
One JMJ Grace Vision Netralaya, Sambalpur, conducted a cataract surgical camp at the sub-divisional hospital at Dharamgarh in Kalahandi district from September 16 to 27 last year.
Official reports indicated that 1,210 operations were carried out over a span of 12 days by two surgeons.
Advocate and human rights activist Prabir Kumar Das filed a letter petition in the high court alleging that 16 persons had lost their eyesight owing to the doctors’ negligence and the authorities’ indifference at the camp. Compensation was sought for the persons who had lost eyesight.
Taking note of it on April 6, the high court had converted the letter petition into a PIL.
As things stand today district and sessions judge (Kalahandi) Ashok Acharya, in pursuance of a high court order, had conducted an inquiry and confirmed in his report that 16 persons who had undergone operation at a cataract surgical operation at Dharamgarh government hospital lost their eyesight owing to post-operation complications and lack of immediate post-operation care.
However, the Orissa government had, in an affidavit, claimed that the relief onus for loss of eyesight of the persons lied with the NGO which had been allowed to conduct the camp.
“The onus lies with the JMJ Grace Vision Netralaya (Sambalpur) to provide well-qualified doctors, equipment and take care of the post-operation follow-up and the district health care administration through Rogi Kalyan Samiti Dharamgarh, chief district medical officer and his medical team extended all support to the camp,” Kalahandi chief district medical officer Dr Malaya Kumar Behera contended in an affidavit.
Director of the Netralaya Sunderdas Premkumar Clement, on the other hand, had filed an affidavit and claimed that 1,210 cataract operations had been conducted during the camp and the patients were checked, operated, discharged and taken to their respective destination after providing them the required medicines and dark spectacles.
Counselling was also given to them and their respective attendants on post-operative care, Clement said in his affidavit, while claiming that there was “no negligence at all either at the camp stage or at the post-operative stage”.
The Orissa government was directed on August 11 to submit within 10 days the report on the programme implementation. On August 22, the court fixed hearing for Monday after the Orissa government had sought one more week time to submit the report.
