Two physicians and a nurse from Nair Hospital have been suspended for suspected medical malpractice.
According to Suresh Kakani, assistant commissioner, BMC, the decision was made after a 4-month-old infant died, resulting in a delay in treatment.
“A committee has been constituted to investigate the incident, and action will be taken against anyone found culpable,” he continued.
Police detained three people after claims of medical negligence in the death of a teenager arose, including the nurse who gave the shot, the Siddha doctor who ordered it, and a student at a Siddha Medical College.
While the nurse, identified as Esakkiammal (29), a resident of Moondradaippu, was arrested on Monday, the doctor, Sakthi (30), a native of Namakkal and the medical student, Arulselvan (21) of Madurai were arrested on Tuesday. The 25-year-old man, identified as Mari, was allegedly injected at a clinic in Maruthakulam where he took treatment for fever on November 2.
However, his leg had to be amputated allegedly due to the infection caused by the injection. The man died at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on Sunday early morning.
This story has been published from a syndicate feed with some changes to the text.
The Supreme Court declared on Tuesday that no doctor can guarantee a patient’s life, but can only try to treat everyone to the best of his or her abilities, reiterating that a doctor cannot be held liable for medical malpractice just because a patient does not survive.
“There is a tendency to blame the doctor when a patient dies or suffers some mishap. This is an intolerant conduct of the family members to not accept the death in such cases. The increased cases of manhandling of medical professionals who worked day and night without their comfort has been very well seen in this pandemic,” lamented a bench of justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian.
The bench added: “In spite of the treatment, if the patient had not survived, the doctors cannot be blamed as even the doctors with the best of their abilities cannot prevent the inevitable…The doctors are expected to take reasonable care but none of the professionals can assure that the patient would overcome the surgical procedures.”
It underlined that there must be sufficient material or medical evidence should be available before the adjudicating authority to arrive at the conclusion that death is due to medical negligence. “Every death of a patient cannot on the face of it be considered to be medical negligence,” said the bench.
The court said this while allowing an appeal filed by Bombay Hospital and Medical Research Centre against the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission’s order to pay ₹14.18 lakh to the family of one Dinesh Jaiswal, who died in June 1998 following unsuccessful surgeries of his gangrene in his limbs.
The family attributed Jaiswal’s demise to negligence in conducting surgeries, absence of the treating senior doctor, lack of operation theater, and a broken-down angiography machine. The hospital, however, refuted all allegations, stating the best possible treatment by present medical professionals and within the resources available was provided.
In its 2010 judgment, the national consumer commission invoked the principle of “res ipsa loquitur” (mere occurrence of certain event can lead to an inference of negligence of the other side) to hold the hospital guilty of medical negligence.
But the top court on Tuesday set aside this judgment, noting the order suffered from legal as well as factual infirmities.
“It is a case where the patient was in serious condition impending gangrene even before admission to the hospital but even after surgery and re-exploration, if the patient does not survive, the fault cannot be fastened on the doctors as a case of medical negligence. It is too much to expect from a doctor to remain on the bed side of the patient throughout his stay in the hospital which was being expected by the complainant here. A doctor is expected to provide reasonable care which is not proved to be lacking in any manner in the present case,” held the bench.
The court underlined that there was never a stage when the patient was left unattended and mere fact that the main treating doctor had gone abroad cannot lead to an inference of medical negligence because the patient was admitted in a hospital having 20 specialists in multi-faculties.
“The patient was in a critical condition and if he could not survive even after surgery, the blame cannot be passed on to the hospital and the doctor who provided all possible treatment within their means and capacity,” it said.
On the aspect of delay in re-exploration after the initial surgery threw up complications due to non-availability of an operation theater, the bench noted that it was only a matter of chance that all the four operation theatres of the hospital were occupied when the patient was to undergo surgery.
“We do not find that the expectation of the patient to have an emergency operation theatre is reasonable as the hospital can provide only as many operation theatres as the patient load warrants. If the operation theatres were occupied at the time when the operation of the patient was contemplated, it cannot be said that there is negligence on the part of the hospital,” it said.
The court added that a team of specialist doctors was available and also attended to the patient but “unfortunately, nature had the last word” and the patient breathed his last. “The family may not have coped with the loss of their loved one, but the hospital and the doctor cannot be blamed as they provided the requisite care at all given times,” it maintained.
The deceased’s family was paid ₹5 lakh as interim compensation by the top court in March 2010 when it had agreed to examine the hospital’s appeal. The bench said that this amount shall be treated as ex gratia payment to Jaiswal’s family and will not be recovered by the hospital.
On Monday, the Vikhroli Parksite police arrested two doctors for medical negligence that resulted in the death of a 35-year-old woman in 2019. The woman had her tonsils removed at a private hospital in Kanjurmarg where she was being treated. The police are in the process of summoning the doctors to appear for an investigation.
Manisha Pawar, a resident of Vikhroli (E), was suffering from tonsillitis. When the swelling subsided, a local doctor advised her to have her tonsils removed. Manisha went to the doctor in the last week of March 2019, and he said she could have the surgery. He referred her to Kanjurmarg’s Sai Samruddhi Hospital (E).
What happened
Her husband Jalinder Pawar took Manisha to the hospital on April 10, 2019 and they met Dr Chetan Shetty who advised the operation as soon as possible. Manisha got admitted to the hospital on April 11 around 7 am. ENT doctor Chetan shetty and anaesthetist Dr Pruthvi Shetty operated on her and at 11.45 am they told her family that she had to be kept in the ICU as there were some complications.
After half an hour, doctors told the Pawar family Manisha’s condition was deteriorating and she should be transferred to another hospital. Her family rushed Manisha to Aadhar Hospital, Naupada (Thane), where she was put on ventilator and declared dead at 6.40 pm. An ADR was filed at Naupada police station and the body was sent to JJ Hospital for post-mortem.
Negligence proved
A team of doctors from JJ Group of hospitals later examined whether Manisha’s death was caused due to medical negligence by doctors and the investigation proved this was so. They found there were no oxygen cylinders or ventilators at the Kanjurmarg hospital to stabilise her. The panel also found a delay by doctors in shifting her to a facility with life support system.
“As per the panel report we filed an FIR against the two doctors, Dr Chetan Shetty and Dr Pruthvi Shetty,” said an officer from Parksite police station. “My daughter was 10-years-old and son was 4 when this incident occurred. It took almost 3 years to book the doctors. I want justice for my kids and family which has faced such a huge loss due to the negligence of doctors,” said Jalinder Pawar, a dialysis technician in a Shahad-based private hospital.
The doctors have been booked under IPC Sections 304A (Causing death by negligence) and 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others). “We have lodged the FIR and will summon the doctors for investigation,” said Senior Inspector Diwakar Shelke of Parksite police station. This reporter went to the hospital at Kanjurmarg but didn’t get to meet Dr Chetan Shetty or Dr Pruthvi. Nursing staff said they are on-call doctors, only Dr Chetan has an OPD for patients. Attempts to find their contact details or those of the hospital authorities did not yield results.
According to officials, the National Human Rights Commission has issued a show-cause notice to the Union Labour Ministry for alleged medical negligence in the treatment of a suspected coronavirus patient at an ESI hospital here, which resulted in his death at a tie-up facility.
The notice was sent to the ministry’s secretary, who was also directed to investigate the matter and submit a detailed report, according to the NHRC.
The rights panel said in a statement that it has issued a notice to the secretary of the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment “to show cause why it should not recommend Rs 2 lakh as monetary relief to the next of kin of the patient who died due to medical negligence” of an ESI facility.
The complainant had alleged that “his father was seriously ill and was suspected of having Covid-19 infection. The ESI hospital in Jhilmil, Delhi, kept referring to him from one government hospital to another, without admitting to the emergency ward, or providing treatment,” the statement said. “The hospital did not refer him to even a private hospital attached with ESI timely, where he could get a bed and timely treatment,” it added.
According to the proceedings of the case, available on the NHRC website, the death took place at Prakash Hospital in May last year. The man was brought to the ESI hospital by his son, for the first visit on May 25, 2020. The patient was clinically evaluated and found to be a Covid-19 suspect, according to the case proceedings.
“After a persuasive search, one of the tie-up hospital, namely Prakash Hospital agreed to take the patient. The patient was immediately referred to Prakash Hospital on 28.05.2020, and he was admitted there. The patient succumbed to his illness on 29.05.2020,” it said. The rights panel in the statement said that earlier, on the basis of the material on record, the Commission had found that there was a “gross negligence in treatment, referral by the doctors at the ESI hospital, which caused delay in the treatment of the patient leading to his death”.
The Commission observed that this “act of negligence” violated the Right to Health and Right to Life of the victim under Article 21 of the constitution. The NHRC has also asked the secretary of the ministry to submit a report, responding to several queries, including whether Covid-19 negative report is a pre-requisite for getting treatment at ESIC hospital.
“Why the doctors including CMO/superintendent were not aware about any tie-up hospital (the doctors took three days to find the hospital) where the patient could have been referred to,” the NHRC wrote in another query. Why the patient was not checked up or treated by the emergency duty medical officer, is another query, the rights panel has asked while seeking the report, according to the statement. The Commission has also sought additional details from the director general of the ESIC (Employees State Insurance Corporation) in this case, officials said.
Police reported on Thursday that three physicians were allegedly beaten by the family of a patient at a private hospital in Pitampura, northwest Delhi, after a newborn infant died during a caesarean surgery.
The patient’s family members, who were detained, alleged that the baby died due to the “negligence of doctors”, they said.
During the investigation, it was discovered that a 26-year-old pregnant lady from Rani Bagh had been taken to the hospital on Tuesday.
Doctors performed a C-section on the lady due to difficulties, but the baby was stillborn, according to a senior police officer.
Some of the woman’s family members were enraged and assaulted the physicians, blaming them for the baby’s death, according to the officer.
Footage from the event shows a group of individuals abusing and beating a doctor.
According to the police, the baby’s body was then transported to Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital for a post-mortem.
According to them, one of the doctors filed a police report against the patient’s family for mistreating doctors and causing damage to the facility.
The three doctors’ MLC (Medico-Legal Case) assessment concluded that their injuries were minor, they claimed.
According to Usha Rangnani, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest), a case was filed under the IPC sections 323 (voluntarily inflicting pain), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 34 (acts done by numerous individuals in furtherance of common aim) based on the doctor’s complaint and the MLC.
The accused were also booked under the Delhi Medicare Service Personnel and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage of Property) Act, 2008, she said.
The accused had been detained and the matter is being investigated, the police said.
The death of a 31-year-old man three days after undergoing a hair transplant has enraged his family, who have filed a criminal complaint against the doctor for suspected carelessness in the surgery.
The victim, a native of Visnagar’s Khadosan village, used to operate a community library. On September 15, he went to a hair transplant clinic on Jail Road in Mehsana, where the hair transplant was completed around 4 p.m., and he departed the facility at 10 p.m. after eating some food. He returned home and said he had no difficulties.
Following this, on the morning of September 17, he went to the doctor, complaining of uneasiness. After examining his vitals, which were abnormal, the physicians advised him to be admitted to the hospital, according to the Times Of India.
Following that, he was admitted to the clinic’s affiliated hospital, and as his health worsened, he was transferred to the intensive care unit (ICU). However, on September 18, about 7.30 a.m., he died.
The infuriated family held the treating doctor responsible. They alleged negligence in the hair transplant procedure and in the treatment provided at the hospital.
Sub-inspector B K Bhunatar of Mehsana B Division police told the TOI that the family members wanted to lodge a criminal case against the doctor who treated him. They alleged that the doctor who did the hair transplant was responsible for his death.
Considering this, the body of the victim has been sent to the Mehsana Civil Hospital for postmortem and his viscera samples have been sent to a forensic science laboratory to determine the reason behind the death, he added.
Commenting on the future course of action, Inspector B M Patel of Mehsana B Division police told the daily that further action will be taken on the basis of the above mentioned reports.
Meanwhile, the statement of the doctor who performed the transplant and those of the victim’s family members have been recorded by the police.
According to the report of the Civil Surgeon and the doctor’s board’s preliminary inquiry a case of medical negligence against doctors was registered in accordance with Section 304-A.
Tarlok Chand was admitted for surgery at Jassian Road, Arogya Hospital on 15 January. After surgery, the patient was transferred to the recovery room where a blanket blower was kept that caused his legs to be burned.
The Board held the unanimous view that the hot air blower caused patients to get burned in Arogya Hospital. The patient developed wound infection and sickness, for which it was subject to immediately below knee amputation, and was delayed due to comorbidities. Before his death on April 19, Chandigarh, a patient was admitted for reconstruction/rehabilitation.
After the Board submitted the report, Dr Ashish Ohri and Dr Shweta Ohri were registered.
Prayagraj: Authorities at the district hospital in Manjhanpur, Kaushambi district, have launched an investigation into the death of a baby who died on August 15 as a result of suspected medical malpractice at the hospital.
The kid’s parents claimed that their one-day-old child was burned on the heating pad of a warmer machine at the ill newborn care unit owing to the carelessness of the health professionals on duty in a complaint filed with the senior district health authorities on Monday.
Chief medical superintendent of the district hospital, Manjhanpur, Dr. Deepak Seth told TOI on Tuesday that a probe has been initiated to the allegation.
“A comprehensive probe has been launched into the allegation of the parents of the child and action would be initiated against whoever is found guilty. We are recording the statements of staff on duty at the time of the incident,” he added.
Reports said that Fatehpur resident Javed Ahmad had admitted his wife Mahelukabfor delivery at the district hospital, Manjhanpur on August 15. After the woman gave birth to a male child the same day, the doctors on duty advised that parents to keep the newborn at the warmer at the child care unit. The child was shifted to the warner machine but died on August 15.
Following the death of the child, his family members created ruckus on the hospital campus and the hospital authorities were compelled to summon police.
Deputy SP( Manjhanpur) Dr. Krishna Gopal on Tuesday said, “A team of Manjhanpur police had gone to the district hospital on August 15 after the deceased child’s family members created ruckus on the hospital campus.”
He added, “ The family members of the newborn, however, have not submitted any complaint with the police station concerned. They have taken up the matter with the senior district hospital authorities.”
Father of the deceased, Javed, has alleged that health staf on duty was negligent towards his son’s treatment and failed to maintain the teyof the warner, resulting in his deay, he added.
After a 40-year-old man died on Tuesday in Narsampet after being taken to a private hospital, his family mounted a protest, accusing the medical personnel of carelessness.
According to reports, M Ashok, a Chennaraopet village resident, tested positive for Covid-19 about a week ago and was taken to LN Hospital in Narsampet, Warangal Rural district, after developing respiratory issues.
According to sources, the hospital received a notification from the Warangal Rural district medical authority because it did not have licence to treat Covid-19 patients.
Speaking to mediapersons, Ashok’s wife Sunitha alleged that her husband had died due to the doctors’ negligence.
“The doctor came for rounds on Sunday night, and after checking my husband’s health condition, he informed us that Ashok had recovered from Covid-19 and would be discharged within two days.
However, on Monday morning, the hospital staff suddenly shifted Ashok to a private hospital in Hanamkonda for treatment without informing us.” Ashok died on Tuesday night.