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Mumbai: The state health department will establish primary and secondary medical boards at the district level to oversee cases involving living wills, following a public interest litigation filed in Bombay High Court by city-based Dr Nikhil Datar over Maharashtra’s failure to implement Supreme Court guidelines. The move is expected to spark further legal contention, as the petitioner is pushing for mandatory boards at every hospital.
A living will is a legal document in which an individual specifies their preferences for medical treatment and passive euthanasia if they become incapable of taking decisions.
The primary medical board will be chaired by an additional district surgeon and include Class 2 medical officers in anaesthesiology and surgery, and a physician as the member secretary. The secondary board will be chaired by the district surgeon and will include Class 1 officers with the same qualifications.
“I will soon file my reply to demonstrate the impracticality of this decision to the court. This system won’t work for multiple reasons, one being the shortage of doctors in govt service,” said Dr Datar.
Dr Datar argued the formation of the boards needs decentralisation, with every hospital in the state having primary and secondary boards. Following the PIL, the state also appointed doctors across municipal health departments as custodians of living wills for safekeeping. In Mumbai, ward-level medical officers are the custodians of these documents.
“I am happy my PIL prompted the govt to take steps to establish the right to passive euthanasia, but I find the action too superficial,” Dr Datar added. Despite repeated attempts, state health department officials remained unavailable for comment.
Mumbai: The state health department will establish primary and secondary medical boards at the district level to oversee cases involving living wills, following a public interest litigation filed in Bombay High Court by city-based Dr Nikhil Datar over Maharashtra’s failure to implement Supreme Court guidelines. The move is expected to spark further legal contention, as the petitioner is pushing for mandatory boards at every hospital.
A living will is a legal document in which an individual specifies their preferences for medical treatment and passive euthanasia if they become incapable of taking decisions.
The primary medical board will be chaired by an additional district surgeon and include Class 2 medical officers in anaesthesiology and surgery, and a physician as the member secretary. The secondary board will be chaired by the district surgeon and will include Class 1 officers with the same qualifications.
“I will soon file my reply to demonstrate the impracticality of this decision to the court. This system won’t work for multiple reasons, one being the shortage of doctors in govt service,” said Dr Datar.
Dr Datar argued the formation of the boards needs decentralisation, with every hospital in the state having primary and secondary boards. Following the PIL, the state also appointed doctors across municipal health departments as custodians of living wills for safekeeping. In Mumbai, ward-level medical officers are the custodians of these documents.
“I am happy my PIL prompted the govt to take steps to establish the right to passive euthanasia, but I find the action too superficial,” Dr Datar added. Despite repeated attempts, state health department officials remained unavailable for comment.
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