A case was registered with the Bharalumukh police station on September 23, Sunday, against Kumar Nursing Home located at the Bharalumukh area of Guwahati, for alleged medical negligence.
According to the first information report (FIR), Sabita Das, a resident of Azara, passed away after giving birth to a baby girl at the nursing home on September 21, Friday. The deceased, family members alleged, gave birth to a baby girl at 10:30 am on Friday while she died around 5:30 in the evening while being shifted to another private hospital in the city.
Family members also accused the hospital authorities of not handing over the baby girl Sabita had delivered before she breathed her last while being shifted to Hyatt Hospital for better treatment since her condition worsened post the delivery. They also accused hospital authorities of raising a bill of around Rs 60,000 and of not handing over the baby to them till the amount was paid.
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Reportedly, protests erupted at the Kumar Nursing Home following Sabita’s death and it was only after the protest and the subsequent police action that hospital authorities handed over the baby girl to the family.
Afzal Hussain, investigating officer in the case, informed G Plus that a case has been registered under section 304 (A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and that investigation is ongoing.
"During the early investigation, we were unable to find the doctor’s fault. However, the body of the deceased has been sent to Azara for post-mortem. After the reports are examined by the joint director of health, we’ll be able to investigate further,” said Rahman.
The family members of the deceased further accused Dr. Dulumoni Borgohain, one of the doctors of the hospital who was looking after the deceased woman, of medical negligence.
“We had been consulting Dr. Dulumoni Borgohain since my wife was in the fourth month of her pregnancy. She had called my wife for an ultrasound on September 25 and surgery on September 30. However, my wife started bleeding on September 21 and that’s when we admitted her. Her condition worsened in the hospital but the hospital neither had an ICU nor a blood bank. So we had to rush her to Hyatt Hospital where she was declared dead,” Dipen Das, the husband of the deceased told G Plus.
Further, Dipen blamed the hospital for their negligent attitude during the entire process. He added that they are now taking legal recourse in the case and are exploring all legal options available.
G Plus reached out to Kumar Nursing Home multiple times but the authorities did not respond to our queries.
Several reports on medical negligence question city’s medical scenario
Prior to this incident, another case of medical negligence got registered at the Bharalumukh police station against the Institute of Human Reproduction (IHR), commonly known as Goenka Nursing Home.
According to reports, a city resident, 31-year-old Nasima Sultana who was pregnant, died a few hours after she was admitted to Goenka Nursing Home for delivery on July 15. Bharalumukh police officials told G Plus that according to the relatives of the deceased, the doctors did not conduct any tests and took Sultana straightaway to the operation theatre. After four hours, when the relatives enquired about the patient, the authorities said that her condition was critical and she would have to be shifted to another hospital where she was declared brought dead.
Further, the Kamrup (Metro) District Consumer Disputes Redressal forum (DCDRF) officials informed G Plus that they receive several cases related to medical negligence in a month.
The cases range from the wrong diagnosis of diseases to negligence in medical services. Officials of the DCDRF informed that such cases of medical negligence have become very frequent with at least three to four cases being filed with the consumer forum every month.
In a recent case, a city resident gave his blood sample for testing to a laboratory before donating blood to a friend. However, the reports revealed that he had tested positive for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). After this, the man consulted two doctors and on their advice, gave his blood samples for testing at two different laboratories. Both the results showed a negative result for HIV.
“He then filed a case of medical negligence against the first laboratory in which the DCDRF passed a judgment and ordered the laboratory owner to pay compensation to the complainant,” informed Mohammad Sahadat Hussain, president of the DCDRC.
In another case, a woman filed a case against a city-based private hospital after her father passed away after being admitted for a week in the hospital. Member of DCDRF, Archana Deka, informed that the complainant’s father was suffering from jaundice and had stopped responding to treatment before he passed away. She alleged improper diagnosis and negligence on the part of the hospital authorities and filed a case with the DCDRF.