Kolkata: An intern doctor from Kolkata is facing backlash online after she shared pictures of herself suturing a woman following a delivery in the hospital. The post has raised questions about patient privacy, informed consent, and ethics.
The doctor who posted the pictures is identified as Dr. Sudeshna Mondol. She is an intern at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH) in Kolkata.
In early September, Dr. Mondol shared an Instagram picture on her personal account, where she was wearing medical gloves, a hairnet, and holding a needle and thread while she was suturing a woman who had just given birth. The picture was captioned as “Silai Bunai Aati hai?” which translates to “Do you know how to stitch?”
Recently, the photograph resurfaced on X, and users were not happy with the kind of pictures that Dr. Mondol shared. The users questioned whether it is ethical for a doctor to share such private pictures of a patient from the hospital room.
A user, Dr. Rijaul Hassan, commented, “I have seen some junior doctors posting patients' images publicly on social media. This should be stopped, and A rule should be made by NMC regarding this. And every HOD should take responsibility for what their junior doctors are doing like this.”
Another user, Dr. Aryan Siwach, commented, “ Disgrace to the profession. No basic sense. You can always put yourself in the situation to evaluate if it's right or wrong for someone else.”
Some users also commented about the influencer culture taking over other professions such as medicine and that doctors should not post such private pictures of their patients on social media.
After Dr. Mondol’s post went viral, she started to receive hate online, and her Instagram account has been made private since then.
According to the reports, Dr. Sudeshna has posted similar pictures from hospital rooms before her last post went viral.
Hindustan Times reported that earlier she posted pictures of a newborn baby online.
On September 5, Dr. Mondol posted online, where she admitted she hadn't realized sharing the photos was inappropriate and acknowledged the deep emotional value of a newborn.
This previous apology resurfaced after the delivery-room photograph gained renewed attention.
According to the reports, Dr. Sudeshna said that she posted the pictures of the newborn with the permission of the mother of the baby.
She said that the mother gave her consent 4 hours after her delivery when she was not under anaesthesia. She claimed that the woman offered to photograph the baby with Dr. Sudeshna. And the woman herself took the pictures of them together.
Dr. Mondol also responded to the criticism that she received over medical ethics. She argued that the photos did not violate the NMC guidelines as she was not using them to promote pharmaceutical products.
The NMC issued the Registered Medical Practitioner Regulations 2023; these rules were about professional conduct and patient privacy. But on August 23, 2023, the NMC suspended the regulations from operation.
However, the 2002 Code of Medical Ethics Regulations is still listed on the NMC website. The regulations address a doctor’s role in protecting the confidentiality of a patient’s information, except in certain circumstances.
(Rh/ARC)