British med journal questions `tainted' Desai
appointment
Ekatha Ann
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Chennai:
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Has Become Prez Of World Medical Assc
Nearly six months after corruption tainted ex-MCI chief Ketan Desai took charge as president of the World Medical Association (WMA), reputed scientific publication British Medical Journal (BMJ) has questioned his appointment.BMJ, in an editorial in its latest edition, has called for an overhaul of the World Medical Association (WMA), citing Desai's appointment as an example of its “poor judgment“.
WMA is a top medical ethics body that 112 national medical associations formed and finances and represents more than 10 million physicians globally.
A Delhi court remanded Desai, then head of Medical Council of India -a statutory body with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining high standards of medical education and recognition of medical qualifications in the country , in prison for a few months on corruption charges in 2010.
David Berger, a member of the BMJ management board, who wrote the editorial, said pending corruption cases have undermined Desai's credibility as a “global custodian of medical ethics“.
To a question on the timing of the editorial, six months after Desai took charge of WMA, Berger, in an email interview with TOI, said the article had been in production for more than four months.
“The issues are complicated and we wanted to make the case for his suspension pending an investigation as clear as possible,“ he said. “It is a puzzle to me and to any right-thinking person how he could have been appointed after all that has passed, and with charges outstanding against him.“
MCI also came in the firing line, with the journal questioning its reason for refusing to release information related to Desai's medical registration status in India. In 2010, a governmentappointed MCI board of governors debarred Desai from practicing medicine and participating as a doctor in a medical conference anywhere or representing a medical council. His inauguration as WMA president was suspended that year. In 2013, the WMA decided to lift the suspension on assurances from the Indian Medical Association, which Desai once headed.
Ayear later, MCI took a decision to invalidate all its decisions between 2010 and 2013.However, the status of Desai's registration remains a mystery , with the MCI obtaining a high court stay against a January 2017 Central Information Commission order to release this information.
“Although Desai hasn't been convicted so far, his appointment has dismayed campaigners against healthcare corruption,“ Berger said. WMA, he said, had maintained there were no cases pending against Desai. “Instead of conducting an independent investigation, WMA chose instead to rely on the word of the Indian Medical Association, which is supportive of Desai.“
BMJ urged WMF to suspend Desai's presidency and to ensure an investigation be conducted into the decision making process that led to his appointment.
Repeated calls to Desai did not elicit any response.
Kolkata-based NGO People for Better Treatment has, meanwhile, moved the Supreme Court seeking a directive that the government send a communication to WMA to revoke Desai's appointment.
Desai has faced a series of legal problems. The CBI had arrested Desai and three others in 2010 for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore to grant recognition to a medical college in Punjab.
The ex-MCI chief has also faced allegations that he conspired in 2009 to have the council recommend that a private medical college in Lucknow be allowed to enroll more students but a special court dropped the charges on the grounds that the investigating agency failed to obtain a mandatory sanction from the government to prosecute him.
WMA is a top medical ethics body that 112 national medical associations formed and finances and represents more than 10 million physicians globally.
A Delhi court remanded Desai, then head of Medical Council of India -a statutory body with the responsibility of establishing and maintaining high standards of medical education and recognition of medical qualifications in the country , in prison for a few months on corruption charges in 2010.
David Berger, a member of the BMJ management board, who wrote the editorial, said pending corruption cases have undermined Desai's credibility as a “global custodian of medical ethics“.
To a question on the timing of the editorial, six months after Desai took charge of WMA, Berger, in an email interview with TOI, said the article had been in production for more than four months.
“The issues are complicated and we wanted to make the case for his suspension pending an investigation as clear as possible,“ he said. “It is a puzzle to me and to any right-thinking person how he could have been appointed after all that has passed, and with charges outstanding against him.“
MCI also came in the firing line, with the journal questioning its reason for refusing to release information related to Desai's medical registration status in India. In 2010, a governmentappointed MCI board of governors debarred Desai from practicing medicine and participating as a doctor in a medical conference anywhere or representing a medical council. His inauguration as WMA president was suspended that year. In 2013, the WMA decided to lift the suspension on assurances from the Indian Medical Association, which Desai once headed.
Ayear later, MCI took a decision to invalidate all its decisions between 2010 and 2013.However, the status of Desai's registration remains a mystery , with the MCI obtaining a high court stay against a January 2017 Central Information Commission order to release this information.
“Although Desai hasn't been convicted so far, his appointment has dismayed campaigners against healthcare corruption,“ Berger said. WMA, he said, had maintained there were no cases pending against Desai. “Instead of conducting an independent investigation, WMA chose instead to rely on the word of the Indian Medical Association, which is supportive of Desai.“
BMJ urged WMF to suspend Desai's presidency and to ensure an investigation be conducted into the decision making process that led to his appointment.
Repeated calls to Desai did not elicit any response.
Kolkata-based NGO People for Better Treatment has, meanwhile, moved the Supreme Court seeking a directive that the government send a communication to WMA to revoke Desai's appointment.
Desai has faced a series of legal problems. The CBI had arrested Desai and three others in 2010 for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore to grant recognition to a medical college in Punjab.
The ex-MCI chief has also faced allegations that he conspired in 2009 to have the council recommend that a private medical college in Lucknow be allowed to enroll more students but a special court dropped the charges on the grounds that the investigating agency failed to obtain a mandatory sanction from the government to prosecute him.
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