Nagaland Medical Council flags concerns over unethical practices, unregistered doctors

DIMAPUR — The Nagaland Medical Council (NMC) has raised concerns over various issues affecting the allopathic medical fraternity in the state, including the registration of practitioners, unethical practices, medical negligence, and sexual misconduct by healthcare professionals.

Following its Executive and Ethical Committee meeting held on July 18, the council issued a statement highlighting these matters for the information of the general public and allopathic medical practitioners.

On the issue of registration, the NMC reiterated that all allopathic medical practitioners serving or practising in Nagaland are mandated to be registered with the Council as per the Nagaland Medical Council Act, 2014. This includes doctors from outside the state coming to conduct health camps or to practice in clinics or hospitals.

The NMC stated that it has been scrutinising the qualifications of practitioners to prevent individuals from masquerading as specialists such as cardiologists or neurologists without recognised additional qualifications.

In this connection, the council cited the case of Albert P. Lotha of Dimapur Medical Hall as an example, stating that despite repeated summons for verification of his qualifications, he evaded scrutiny.

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“The Council have also found out that he was using the registration number of a senior doctor in the Government service. It was indeed shocking to know that he even had performed more than 20 autopsies/post-mortems. This is a serious crime and may mean either ignorance of those in authority and may even imply complicity with the individual and the case,” the NMC stated.

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Reminding that doctors are required to renew their registration every five years as per the relevant Act and the National Medical Commission’s regulations, it also observed that some government doctors “refused to get Registered or Renew their registration which makes it illegal for the Government to continuing employing them.”

The council said it is awaiting appropriate action from the government on this matter.

So far, the NMC has registered 1,480 allopathic doctors permitted to practice modern medicine in Nagaland.

While the state has a doctor patient ratio of around 1: 1600 which is comparatively better than many other states, the council expressed concern over rising unemployment among qualified doctors in Nagaland.

The NMC further reminded that Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) must clear the mandatory FMG exam conducted by the National Board of Examination to practise in India. It also alleged that some private hospitals might be employing unqualified individuals and urged the Health Establishment Authority to take necessary action.

Unethical private practice, negligence

The NMC expressed concern over government doctors engaging in private practice despite receiving NPAs — a practice it termed unethical and illegal.

It highlighted that government doctors enjoy competitive salaries with NPA benefits, yet many continue to neglect their public duties in rural postings, opting to practice in urban centres such as Kohima, Dimapur, and Mokokchung.

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It stated that despite clear government directives against such practices, many doctors continue with impunity and the authorities have failed to take action even when evidence exists. “The Council would like to go on record that even when letters were given to the departments by the Lokayukta, those in authority, in the department and the Government of the State choose to ignore this very important issue,” it stated.

Warning that such illegal practices expose doctors to legal consequences, especially in cases of medical negligence, the council appealed to those in authority to take proper measures to control this unethical practice.

The council also noted persistent issues of medical negligence in the state, especially those related to absenteeism. It said that while cases of infant and maternal mortality have come down, “medical negligence, especially because of doctors who are not there at the place of posting is a common and serious problem.”

This, it said, is further exacerbated by the fact that “most specialists are not available at their place of posting but are allegedly doing their private practice in the major towns.”

Asserting that this huge and complicated issue needs to be tackled with systematic action, the NMC said that “Wilful negligence by those in both the government and private sector needs to be addressed.” It also urged the public to report cases of negligence to the council for investigation and assured that justice would be delivered.

Further, the NMC condemned incidents of sexual misconduct by doctors, labelling such acts as unethical, criminal, and grounds for suspension or cancellation of medical registration.

The council urged members of the public to report such cases to the NMC President or Ethics Committee Convenor, via email (nagamedcouncil@gmail.com) or by visiting the council’s office at Para Medical Colony in Kohima, for immediate action.

Reaffirming its commitment to upholding medical ethics and ensuring quality healthcare in the state, it appealed to the public for cooperation in improving healthcare delivery and maintaining professional standards within the medical fraternity.