Anaesthetist among 3 held for patient’s death at Navsari Hospital

Navsari: In a case of alleged medical negligence, a school principal from Gujarat's Navsari district died due to botched treatment following surgery at Damania Hospital. This led to the arrest of three people, including an anaesthetist, a nurse, and the hospital manager. 

The trio were arrested following an investigation by a committee, which held them responsible for medical negligence that resulted in the patient’s death. The committee said the doctor’s order to give a certain injection was identified as the cause of the patient's death. 

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As per the PTI news agency, the incident took place in November 2024 when 54-year-old Arjun Rathod, the principal, was admitted to Damania Hospital after he was injured in a fall at home. The patient fell off a chair at his house and sustained injuries. He underwent orthopaedic surgery and was later moved to the ICU.

According to police, while in the ICU, the attending anaesthetist instructed the nurse to give Rathod a 0.4 ml dose of an injection called TERmin. Shortly after, Rathod’s blood pressure and oxygen levels dropped sharply, which led to his death.

Following an internal inquiry by a panel from Navsari Civil Hospital, the trio were found responsible for negligence in Rathod’s treatment.

Based on the committee’s findings, the trio was booked on May 10 under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and the presence of an abettor when the crime was committed (section 54) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

Deputy Superintendent of Police B.V. Gohil confirmed their arrest and said further investigation is ongoing.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that a woman who had been battling for her life for the past four months after she was allegedly administered expired saline at Medinipur Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) in Paschim Medinipur district, died on Monday. She was allegedly administered the “expired” intravenous fluid at the hospital in January when she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. Ringer’s Lactate is an intravenous fluid that doctors use to treat dehydration and restore fluid balance in the body.

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