Grievance Redressal Mechanisms in Public Healthcare Establishments
Overview of the legal framework and recommendations for reform
Summary: Vidhi’s report examines enforcement of the right to health at public healthcare establishments using internal grievance redressal mechanisms. It analyses complaints filed as well as the legal and policy framework governing remedies.
In India, the right to health is not a statutory right and the National Health Policy, 2017 does not endorse a rights-based approach. It states that policy reform in healthcare should be through incremental infrastructure development, and suggests the setting up of medical tribunals to address disputes on standards of care, price of services, negligence and unfair practices. However, setting up yet another tribunal may not be the best solution.
In this report, Vidhi has done an empirical analysis of complaints filed against public healthcare establishments to get a sense of the kinds of complaints made, the forums utilised and the remedies granted. Further, we have also analysed the existing legal and policy framework applicable to public health establishments in relation to grievance redressal. Though multiple avenues like the Consumer Protection Act, the Clinical Establishments Act, NHRC and writs are available for complaining against health right violations, each has its own shortcomings.
A lesser developed and a lesser used avenue is the internal grievance redressal mechanism in public healthcare establishments, and the focus of this report is to revamp this mechanism, to ensure that all kinds of complaints are resolved effectively. This report is a step towards informing the debate on enforcement of the right to health in public health establishment through internal grievance redressal mechanisms.
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About the Authors
Shreya is a Senior Resident Fellow, and leads the work at the intersection of law, finance and development at Vidhi. She is currently focusing on independent research work relating to financial inclusion, tech and corporate governance. She has worked on several engaged projects with the International Financial Services Centres Authority, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India. Shreya completed her LLB from National Law University, Jodhpur in 2012 and LLM from Queen Mary, London on a Chevening scholarship in 2019. She also worked with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, London in 2019. Prior to joining Vidhi in 2014, she worked as an Associate at Luthra & Luthra Law Offices, New Delhi.
Dr. Dhvani Mehta {B.L.S. LL.B. (University of Mumbai); BCL, D.Phil (Oxon)} is a Co-Founder at Vidhi and Lead, Health. She has worked specifically on research projects on environmental clearances, the National Green Tribunal, organ transplant laws, end of life care, and pharmaceutical and medical device regulation. She has appeared in the Supreme Court of India in petitions filed by Vidhi on advance medical directives and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy. She has authored chapters on the implementation of environmental judgments and healthcare corruption in India. Dhvani read for a doctoral degree at the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship, where she was Chairperson of Oxford Pro Bono Publico and an editor of the Oxford Human Rights Hub blog. Her doctoral thesis explores the idea of an environmental rule of law in India and was cited by the Supreme Court of India.
