6-year-old dies during eye surgery at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital; inquiry ordered
Pune- In a tragic incident, a six-year-old girl died during an eye surgery at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on Monday, following which her family staged a protest outside the hospital, alleging medical negligence and demanding a high-level inquiry into the incident.
However, the police officials stated that before registering any FIR, this matter would be referred to the Medical Negligence Board for expert opinion.
The child had reportedly been admitted for an eye procedure related to a previous cataract surgery. Her family originally hails from Gondia.
According to the Times Now News media report, Ulhas Kadam, the Senior PI of Alankar Police Station, stated that the girl was undergoing a cataract-related procedure at the hospital.
“The child passed away around 2 pm on May 18. On Tuesday, we recorded statements from the doctors and formally accepted the family’s complaint. All relevant medical documents will be sent to the medical negligence board at Sassoon General Hospital. We can only file an FIR after receiving their expert opinion,” Kadam said.
Meanwhile, Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital termed the incident "extremely unfortunate" and stated that an internal inquiry has been initiated.
“The incident that occurred is extremely unfortunate. The hospital has initiated an internal inquiry. All relevant documents and information will be provided to the police and the Sassoon General Hospital administration. We remain committed to maintaining complete transparency and accountability,” the hospital said.
Additionally, Dr Suryakant Devkar, Assistant Health Officer at the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), stated that the child had undergone cataract surgery at the age of one, and this time she was admitted for a retinal examination.
He stated that the patient had undergone cataract surgery at the age of one. For the follow-up procedure, she was administered general anesthesia. According to preliminary information, she suffered a cardiac arrest during extubation (removal of the breathing tube). The post-mortem was completed on Tuesday morning at Sassoon General Hospital.
The police stated that further action will depend on the findings of the medical board's examination.
