Keralam Health dept. asks doctors to follow wound certification protocols strictly

The Health department has issued a circular directing all government doctors to strictly adhere to medico-legal protocols specified in the Kerala Medico-Legal Code, while preparing wound certificates.

The circular was issued following complaints from the Director General of Prosecution that often wound certificates prepared by doctors in the Health Service without due diligence, which resulted in omissions and improper documentation of injuries, were hampering criminal prosecutions and the administration of justice.

The issue of improper wound certification by government doctors and the subsequent subversion of justice in criminal cases was brought to the attention of the Director General of Prosecution by K. Prathibha, a medical officer with the Health Services herself.

In his letter to the Director of Health Services (DHS), the Director General of Prosecution flagged the recurring deficiencies in wound certificates prepared by doctors across the State. In medico-legal cases, the wound certificates issued by doctors assume much importance and doctors are supposed to prepare them with utmost diligence. As far as a criminal case involving bodily injury is concerned, the wound certificate and the entries made therein are vital during the trial.

However, negligence on the part of doctors, particularly the omission of the name of the alleged assailants in the wound certificate, incomplete entries regarding the nature of injuries, and illegible writing were causing major setbacks for the prosecution in criminal cases while seeking to establish the guilt of the accused.

Many columns in the wound certificate which are to be mandatorily filled in, were also being left blank by some doctors. These facts have been brought up by many prosecutors from across the State, the letter said. The Health department has since directed all District Medical Officers to bring the matter to the attention of government doctors and to ensure immediate compliance.

The circular states that any lapse or deviation from the prescribed format or instructions under the Kerala medico-legal protocol that affects the administration of justice will be viewed seriously. Doctors have been instructed to ensure that all relevant details are recorded accurately, clearly, and completely.

Dr. Prathibha’s letter to the DHS and the Director General of Prosecution cited a case which occurred in 2016, when a person was brought to the Parassala taluk hospital with serious head injuries allegedly inflicted by his son. The patient subsequently died at home without receiving further treatment.

Dr. Prathibha pointed out that neither the wound certificate nor the police intimation recorded the relevant details of the patient’s potentially life-threatening injuries or documented his referral for further treatment. The lack of documentation and alleged failure by the casualty medical officer to follow the required procedures meant that adequate evidence could not be produced before court, she said.

The son, who was accused of fatally assaulting his father, was acquitted by the sessions court recently, it was pointed out. The Health department’s latest circular seeks to ensure that wound certificates are prepared with due diligence and that omissions or deficiencies in medico-legal documentation do not compromise investigations, prosecutions or the delivery of justice.