Doctor beaten up, hospital ransacked after pregnant woman death, IMA demands action

Various medical organizations including the Barak Valley Chapters of All Assam Non-government Health Establishment Association (AANGHEA) and Indian Medical Association (IMA), while expressing grief over the death of the patient, criticized the act of violence against the medical professional and the hospital.

The members of the association pointed out that if the doctor was guilty of medical negligence he should be treated by law and not by the patient party.

In wake of the incident, the private nursing homes of Silchar decided to stage a symbolic protest demanding a proper investigation and arrest of the attackers. All the outdoors services remained closed on Tuesday, but the emergency department work was not disrupted. The information was provided by the officials of AANGHEA and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) during a press meet.

The incident took place when an eight-month-pregnant lady went to the hospital for treatment. The 34-year-old woman was a resident of Public School Road's Shyamananda Ashram Lane. The kin of the patient alleged that the doctor informed them that the patient could be discharged soon but within 10 minutes her condition deteriorated and she passed away. The family members alleged that the doctor was callous in his attitude and administered the wrong medication.

The brother-in-law of the deceased told Barak Bulletin, " We were told that today morning the patient will be discharged as both mother and child are ok. But, in the morning, a resident medical officer told us that they can only discharge the patient after one saline. They said this is what was instructed by a doctor and the saline is important for the movement of the baby. The mother was fine and requested the doctor to not put the saline again as the saline causes her trouble. But the medical team did not pay heed and continued with the IV. Within ten minutes, it was all over."

Questioning the quality of the treatment provided in the facility, he further added, " How can someone who is deemed fit to be discharged, die within 10 minutes of an intravenous treatment."

After the death of the woman, her neighbours and relatives entered into a heated conversation with the medical team handling her case. Soon the kin of the patient resorted to violence and ransacked the hospital. They assaulted the doctor in charge of the patient and some other hospital staff. Finally, police arrived and took the situation under control.

Condemning the attack on the doctor, several medical organizations demanded the immediate arrest of the attackers. Nilava Mazumder, the president of AANGHEA Barak Valley Chapter told the daily, "The death of the pregnant lady at Nightingale Hospital is mournful. The loss can't be repayed, I am standing with the family of the deceased lady at the time of grief. But we can't accept those who vandalized and attacked hospital staff. There were some unknown miscreants and not the relatives of the deceased lady. AANGHEA and IMA condemn the violence and vandalism and demand strict action against the miscreants."

Ranabir Paul, secretary of IMA said, "Human being can make mistakes, as the matter is subjudice, I won't make any comments on this, if her death is proved to be caused by any medical negligence of the physician, justice will be done, the investigation is going on, a postmortem is complete, and the matter is subjudice."

He further added that medical facilities play a vital role in healthcare, hence under any circumstances manhandling healthcare workers and destroying hospital property should not be accepted. He also informed that protesting against the incident, the private hospitals will suspend their Out Patient Department services, just the emergency services will be provided.

" I hope the administration will take strict measures against the miscreants on that day. We are demanding reparation for the damages", stated the doctor.

Recalling the great reputation of the doctor involved in the issue, Rudranarayam Gupta, the CEO of Green Heals Hospital, and member of AANGHEA told the Barak Bulletin, " The doctor has earned enough reputation as a physician, he performed many successful surgery, he has served the society with dedication. This is not at all acceptable how a doctor of his stature was abused this way. If the doctor is found be guilty, then he will be punished according to the law, but the rampage and vandalism can't be tolerated. Health care staffs are being abused on Social Media since the incident, this is very disheartening."