NMC turns 5, with no patient appeals heard

National Medical Commission ( NMC ) completes five years on Thursday without having heard a single complaint from a patient, having rejected all of those it has received. This, despite being a body meant to regulate the medical profession in public interest.

Hundreds of complaints and appeals filed by patients or their families have been rejected since NMC came into existence on Sept 25, 2020. The draft amendment of the NMC Act, put in public domain by the health ministry in Dec 2022, contains a provision that provides for the public to file appeals before NMC's Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) against decisions or actions of state medical councils in complaints related to medical negligence or professional misconduct. A file noting acquired using RTI shows the draft amendment was approved in 2023. However, the file hasn't moved since then.

The health ministry told Parliament in Aug - in response to an MP's query asking if there was "bias in favour of doctors" in NMC - that the mechanism to handle complaints was provided in clause 8.8 of Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. What it did not reveal was that the EMRB division continues to reject patients' appeals, reiterating that an appeal from a non-RMP (someone not a registered medical practitioner) cannot be accepted since Section 30(3) of NMC Act states that medical professionals aggrieved by state council decisions can appeal.

"Even though nothing in Section 30(3) expressly bars patients from filing appeals, NMC, in a meeting in Oct 2021, decided only appeals of doctors will be allowed. The word 'only' was inserted by NMC. RTI replies make it clear that NMC took the decision without availing any legal opinion," said KV Babu, an ophthalmologist and RTI activist.

The NMC Act states that "rules and regulations made under Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, shall continue to be in force and operate till new standards or requirements are specified under this Act or rules and regulations made thereunder". Since the ethics regulations haven't been replaced, the old regulation of 2002 - which allows patient appeals - would be applicable, as confirmed by the health ministry's response in Parliament. However, rejections have continued.

After several representations regarding this, NMC, in its 14th meeting held in May 2024, decided to hear patients' appeals, and the decision was approved in the 16th meeting in Dec 2024. The minutes of this meeting stated: "NMC has agreed that all appeals received by EMRB will be entertained". Yet, EMRB division continues to insist that non-doctors cannot appeal and rejects all patients' appeals.