Gynaecologist on phone, Nurses performing delivery: Doctor booked under IPC 304A after death of newborn

Warangal: A gynaecologist and two nurses of Wardhannapet Community Health Centre (CHC) have been booked under IPC 304a after a newborn died following a delivery performed by the nurses with guidance from the gynaecologist over the phone.

The infant was born on May 17 and was transferred to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital due to health complications after delivery, including breathing issues and high blood pressure. Unfortunately, the newborn did not survive despite undergoing treatment and died a day later.  

According to recent reports, the Wardhannapet police have registered a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 304 (A) for the death of the newborn due to medical negligence based on the complaint of the father of the deceased child. 

Also read- Newborn Dies After C-Section: Doctor Accused Of Medical Negligence, Booked

As per a Deccan Chronicle news report, the pregnant woman at Wardhannapet CHC was assisted by two nurses who conducted the delivery following instructions from the duty doctor over the phone. It was claimed that the doctor had left the hospital without conducting tests on the woman and asked the nurse along with an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) to take care of the patient. 

The father of the deceased claimed that their newborn son's death was due to negligence at the CHC. He alleged that the non-medical staff performed the delivery in the absence of a doctor. Further, he also stated that his child died due to the nurses who had conducted the delivery forcibly. 

The incident took place when the pregnant woman was admitted with labour pain on Friday evening. The doctor who was on duty allegedly left the hospital without consulting or conducting tests on the patient. After some time, the patient began experiencing severe labour pains and the two nurses informed the doctor about her condition, according to TNIE report.

The nurses then took the patient to the labour room and performed a normal delivery. “The staff then shifted my wife to the operation theatre. Dr *** gave suggestions over the phone while the nurse and ANM staff attended the delivery,” he claimed, as per TNIE.

The woman gave birth to a baby boy but according to The Daily, the nurses did not show the baby to her parents and shifted the newborn to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) Hospital. 

Following the newborn's death, the father and other family members protested in front of the hospital. Accusing the hospital staff of being negligent in delivering the child, the they alleged that despite their request for a C-section, the nurses proceeded with a normal delivery while receiving instructions on phone from the duty doctor. It was only because of negligence of the hospital staff that their child had died, they added.

Meanwhile, the CHC’s superintendent, Dr B Narsimha Swamy denied the allegations by the father of the deceased about the non-medical staff performing the delivery in the absence of a doctor and claimed that the delivery was performed in the presence of the gynaecologist. 

"Due to breathing issues and high blood pressure levels, the baby had to be shifted to MGM Hospital, where it died while undergoing treatment," he informed TNIE.

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