Mumbai’s Saifee Hospital seeks Rs 125 crore in damages from DNB trainee who attempted suicide

Mumbai’s Saifee Hospital has filed a defamation suit against its Diplomate of National Board (DNB) trainee who last week attempted suicide after being suspended by the hospital over allegations of misconduct and neglecting clinical duties.

Following the plea, the Bombay High Court (HC) on Tuesday restrained the student, who has complained of extended duty hours and harassment, from making social media posts. The court also issued a notice seeking her response.

The hospital, in its plea, has sought Rs 125 crore in damages from the student for making “baseless” claims against the institute and bringing it into disrepute. It has also asked that the court bar the resident doctor from publishing any defamatory content against the hospital, delete her existing posts and tender an unconditional apology.

The DNB trainee had overdosed on Thursday, September 3, after the medical centre, a day earlier, issued a suspension order barring her from entering the premises. While she was promptly admitted to the hospital and provided physical and mental-health care, her relatives checked her out the next morning against the medical advice.

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Saifee Hospital: NBEMS complaint, show-cause notice

For the past several months, the first-year DNB (general surgery) trainee and the hospital administration, have been levelling allegations against each other before the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), the regulatory body for DNB programme. While the hospital accuses the trainee of unauthorised absence, dereliction of duty and insubordination, the student has claimed that she was assigned long duty hours and faced harassment and “mental torture” at the hands of faculty and senior students.

In its defamation suit, the Saifee Hospital Trust, which runs the medical centre, has detailed several instances since April – barely a couple of months after admission – when the resident doctor was absent during her duty hours without any notice.

It also cites multiple examples of her allegedly failing to perform the clinical tasks assigned to her and ignoring patient care. These include entering false output figures of a drain tube maintained for post-operative monitoring, not checking the flap of another patient operated for radical neck dissection and neglecting two post-operative patients.

In August, the hospital initiated a disciplinary action against the student and issued her a show-cause notice, listing 13 instances of alleged “gross misconduct”. She was asked to respond to the letter within a week and threatened with legal proceedings in case of non-compliance.

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On the other hand, the student, in her social media posts made since June, has been complaining about being subjected to “illegal working hours”, removed from the surgery department and posted as a mere “floor resident medical officer (RMO)” and “mental harassment” by seniors and the hospital management. The student had also submitted a complaint to NBEMS and other authorities including the hospitals’ Grievance Redressal Committee.

In an earlier interaction with Careers360, Anupam Chaudhary, a friend of the student had claimed that the hospital made her log out at 4PM – the official exit time – but asked her to work beyond her duty hours. “The hospital instigated her colleagues against her, who would taunt her. An issue was created out of a rookie mistake she had made during surgery. Her guide wouldn't accept her thesis,” he had said.

Saifee Hospital says DNB trainee claims ‘baseless’

According to the hospital’s plea, GRC heard the student’s grievances in June, where she, among other allegations, claimed that the seniors would tear up her treatment sheets and a faculty member would make her write apology letters for minor mistakes.

The hospital termed these claims to be “baseless, misconceived and legally untenable”, claiming that she failed to substantiate her allegations or provide any evidence in support. “The said allegations appear to be a deliberate attempt by the Defendant to divert attention from her own acts of omission and commission and to create a false narrative against the Hospital,” says the plea.

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The hospital also alleged that the student was deliberately punching out late in order to create a false impression of extended duty hours. The administration also asserted that it has “done its level best” to accommodate the student by posting her in her preferred unit and assigning her fixed duty hours and patient workload.

“Apart from bringing the hospital, its doctors and its management into disrepute, [the trainee’s] statements seek to target the hospital's surgery department. This is not only likely to affect the patient intake at the Hospital but is also likely to discourage future resident doctors from joining the hospital. This will have a direct impact on the hospital's highest revenue earning department,” reads the plea.

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts or tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling 9820466726 or visiting AASRA’s official website or can call iCALL on 9152987821. Here are some more helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.