Kathmandu, July 14 -- On July 8, following protests by the Nepal Medical Association, the government struck a deal with the medical doctors to make "necessary revisions" to the Consumer Act. The doctors had launched an agitation, closing all services except emergencies, against Consumer Court's verdicts to slap penalties on doctors found guilty of gross negligence in treatments that even led to patient deaths.

In recent verdicts, the court imposed heavy penalties on three private hospitals-Rs5.68 million on the Chabahil-based Om Hospital; Rs5.7 million on Grande City Clinic (Rs4 million on the doctors and Rs1.7 million on hospital); and Rs14.5 million on Himal Hospital (70 percent on the doctor and 30 percent on hospital).

Since the Act...