Gynaecologist suspended after woman dies during surgery at Una hospital

Una: A gynaecologist at a private hospital in Rakkad Colony near Una district has been suspended by the Himachal Pradesh Health Department following allegations of medical negligence after a woman patient died following a tumour removal operation. The doctor has been reassigned to Shimla.

While the family blamed the doctor and hospital for her death, the hospital authorities previously denied the allegations claiming she died due to excessive bleeding. However, an investigation into the matter confirmed negligence on the part of the doctor.

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As per The Tribune news report, Medical Superintendent Dr Sanjay Mankotia at the Una district hospital conducted a preliminary inquiry and found the doctor's fault in the case. After collecting the information and evidence, Mankotia submitted the report to the Health Directorate which led to the suspension of the gynaecologist. A detailed probe will be conducted soon after the Directorate's constitution of an inquiry team.

The incident took place on Tuesday evening when the woman was initially brought to the Regional Hospital Una on Monday for treatment. The gynaecologist there checked the woman's condition and diagnosed that she had a tumour in her stomach and advised her to have surgery to remove it. Following this, the doctor provided her contact number and instructed the family to call her to confirm the timing.

When the patient's daughter called her, the doctor's husband picked up the phone, asked her to come to the regional hospital at 10 am, and advised her to make only WhatsApp calls, as per ETV Bharat news report.

However, after reaching the regional hospital, the doctor reportedly asked them to take her to a private hospital for the surgery. Acting on the doctor's advice, the family did the same and the surgery was conducted.

Threatening to hold a protest if strict action is not taken against the erring doctor, the husband of the deceased met with the Chief Medical Officer Dr Sanjeev Kumar Verma recently. He claimed that she was in stable condition before the operation but the negligence allegedly took his wife's life. The husband of the deceased patient told The News Himachal that the entire operation was mysterious as it was conducted under questionable circumstances.

“The doctor arrived at the private hospital around 4 pm and took my wife for surgery. Shortly after, the hospital staff appeared panicked. When my daughters inquired about her condition, they received no answers and were not allowed to meet their mother. My wife walked into the hospital perfectly fine, and now she is no more. This is a clear case of negligence. We demand strict action against the doctor and the hospital. If strict action is not taken against the lady doctor, then we will be forced to protest," he told the Daily.

This led to an uproar at the private hospital and police were informed who brought the situation under control after reaching the spot. The police assured the family that a thorough investigation would be done which allegedly calmed them.

Accordingly, the relatives had filed a complaint at the police station. Based on the complaint, the police registered an FIR under sections 106(1), 3(5) against the doctor and private hospital. Since the cause of her death remains unknown, the police sent her body for postmortem to Tanda Medical College. An investigation is underway in this regard.

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