Maharashtra Gynaecologist becomes yet another PPH Victim, severely beaten up after patient death

Ahmednagar: While the medical fraternity has still not coped up with the unfortunate suicide of Gynaecologist Dr Archana Sharma, who took an extreme step after being harassed by the local police and public over death of a delivery patient, a similar death reported from Maharashtra has now led to a violent attack on the Treating Gynaecologist.

Tisgaon based Gynecologist Dr. Nilesh Mhaske was brutally beaten up by the kin of a delivery patient who died succumbing to Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH) after delivering twins here. The doctor failed to save the patient despite his best efforts and soon after was severely beaten by the patient's kin. Suffering injuries from the assault, the doctor has now been shifted to Saideep Hospital, Ahmednagar and is undergoing treatment 

Indian Medical Association, Maharashtra has condemned this act of violence and they have taken measures to file an FIR under The Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons And Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2010. Apart from this, the association has also approached the Government seeking reforms in the law so that the doctors could be protected. "We will leave no stone unturned," said Dr. Mangesh Pate, the state secretary of Indian Medical Association Maharashtra State and National Secretary of IMA Hospital Board of India.

This comes only a few days after Rajasthan-based Dr. Archana Sharma committed suicide after she was booked under murder charges. In that case as well, the patient had died during childbirth as a result of Postpartum Hemorrhage (PPH), which is a known complication after delivery leading to loss of blood in a patient. 

In the present case, the late patient, pregnant with twins, had come to Dr Nilesh Mhaske for delivery. However, due to the complications of PPH, the patient started losing blood which ultimately led to her death. However, the tragedy did not end in there as the relatives of the patient started beating up the doctor for the loss. Soon, the social media handles started flooding with the photographs and standing in solidarity with the doctor, the medical fraternity started demanding the Central Protection Act immediately.

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Providing more details regarding the incident, Dr. Mangesh Pate told Medical Dialogues, "The incident happened in Tisgaon of Ahmednagar area. Dr Nilesh Mhaske is an eminent Gynecologist, who works in there. Despite trying his best, the doctor failed to save the patient who had come to him for delivery. The cause of patient's death was Post Partum Hemorrhage."

"Dr. Nilesh was seriously beaten and he had severe drowsiness and dizziness and that is why he had to be shifted to Ahmednagar Hospital in emergence, where he is under treatment right now. However, whenever such violence happens it affects both the physical and mental status of a doctor," Dr. Pate further mentioned.

"There are so many incidents and the current Medicare Act, 2010, which is currently enacted in Maharashtra is just a meagre piece of paper, insufficient to provide protection to the doctors. We are demanding to the Government of Maharashtra that this state-wide Act needs to be revisited immediately and strong clauses should be added to it. More than 50 percent of police stations in Maharashtra are not even aware of such an Act and that it exists in Maharashtra. This is the situation of law and order and the lawmakers have to be taken into account for this serious situation against the healthcare providers," he added.

Referring to the complication of PPH, he explained, "There are various reasons why there is a bleeding after childbirth and PPH is one of them. PPH along with other factors may cause serious complication in a patient, no matter how hardly the doctor tries. PPH is a response of the patient's body as the uterus keeps on bleeding. Unfortunately, even after taking the best possible measures, sometimes we lose the patient due to this."

While he agreed that relatives remain at loss when someone in the family dies, he also pointed out that the doctors also do not think of anything else other than to provide the best treatment possible to the patient. 

"No one ever looks into the mind and heart of a doctor, how much they feel when they lose a patient. To call medical complication a negligence, to put unwanted and irrational allegations against the doctors and to take law in own hands and to commit healthcare violence is unpardonable offence," added the doctor.

Reminding that doctors are no god and they are working as per the medical science, he mentioned, "People tend to forget this simple fact and as a result healthcare violence is happening repeatedly."

The Federation of All India Medical Association has also condemned this incident and speaking of the same Dr. Rohan Krishnan, the president of FAIMA said, "We hear no such news that an IAS officer, A policeman or a lawyer has been thrashed. But occurrence of violence on doctors has become very common these days. So government must now seriously consider passing special protection law for doctors. It's the responsibility of the government to safeguard its citizens. We are humans and Indians at first who cannot be deprived of basic security at work place."

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