IPC 304A: Gurugram Hospital Chairman, Directors, 2 doctors Booked after Patient who suffered Miscarriage alleges negligence

Gurugram: Facing the charges of alleged medical negligence resulting in a patient's miscarriage, a total number of seven employees of Gurugram-based Cloudnine Hospital at Sector 47 including the chairman, directors and 2 doctors have been booked.

Police registered the case after a committee set up by the Chief Minister's Office found two of the doctors belonging to the hospital negligence, Police informed the PTI.

The FIR, lodged at Sadar police station on Thursday, mentions the hospital chairperson; managing director, director, chief executive officer, zonal head and two doctors. They have been booked under Sections 304A (death by negligence) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC, reports TOI.

The matter goes back to 2022 when the concerned patient suffered a miscarriage. According to her complaint, the patient said she became pregnant with her second child in June 2022 and started consulting Dr Yadav at a clinic in Sector 31.

Based on Dr Yadav's recommendation, the patient was admitted to Cloudnine Hospital on July 23, 2022, after she fell ill. The complainant said that she was admitted to the hospital after she complained of hyperacidity and vomiting. 

At the hospital, the woman was being treated by two doctors who gave her some medicine, following which she suffered a miscarriage, the complaint said.

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As per the latest media report by The Tribune, the complainant further alleged that the management of the hospital and the doctors wrote many false details in the discharge summary and even attempted to lure her with a voucher worth Rs 2.5 lakh and to not file a complaint.

The complainant alleged, “I was put under the direct supervision of Dr Nasre. Around 3pm that day, I was administered medicine through vaginal insertion. In a few hours, I started to feel a pinching pain in the lower abdomen. There was some vaginal bleeding too.”

The Times of India adds that when the pain did not subside, an ultrasound was conducted on her. Commenting on this, the complainant further informed TOI, “I suffered the shock of my life when I was told I had lost the baby. They said the foetus had developed bradycardia (slow heart rate) and haemorrhage.”

She further alleged that they later found out that the medicine administered to her was meant for another patient who required abortion. In this regard, the complainant further alleged, “When we encountered Dr Nasre, she admitted her mistake. But no major action was taken against her.”

The following day, the complainant alleged that the hospital authorities returned Rs 15,000 that her family had deposited upfront. She was also allegedly offered free vouchers of Rs 2.5 lakh if anyone from her family got admitted to the hospital for pregnancy-related issues in the future.

“They forged my signature on the discharge summary and said ‘the patient developed a threatened miscarriage and expelled spontaneously’. They never mentioned that the miscarriage happened because of their negligence,” the complainant informed.

Consequent to the miscarriage, the complainant's family lodged complaints at various platforms and later the district medical board set up a panel of six civil surgeons to investigate her allegations of negligence.

Thereafter, the panel submitted its report on April 29 this year and pointed out that the wrong medicines had been administered to the patient. Referring to this, the investigating officer ASI Raju told TOI, “The medical board found enough evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the hospital. We have registered a case based on the points mentioned in the report.”

However, the case was filed after the family lodged a police complaint in this regard on September 5, 2023. “For six months, I suffered mentally and physically. We wanted strong evidence against the hospital management before we approached the police. It was only after the medical board found negligence on their part that we lodged the complaint. The board, however, did not recommend any action against the doctors and other officials,” the complainant told the Daily.

The FIR has been registered at the Sadar Police Station against the Chairman, the Managing Director, the Director, Chief Executive Officers, the Zonal Head of the concerned Hospital, and others. A senior police officer further informed that the matter is currently being investigated and the accused will be arrested soon.

Commenting on the issue, the Chief Medical Officer Virender Yadav informed TOI that appropriate action would be taken against those found guilty in the police probe. He added, “We stand by the medical board’s findings. Action will be taken accordingly. Every year, more than 400 cases of medical negligence are reported in the city.”

Meanwhile, Kids Clinic India Limited, the parent company of the hospital, has refuted the allegation, saying it is a "malicious and motivated attempt to tarnish the reputation of a leading mother and child care brand by deliberately reviving a fourteen-month-old case".

"We vehemently deny these allegations and remain committed to delivering quality care. We are in the process of seeking appropriate legal remedies," the statement added.

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