MP Hospital Doctors Declare Foetus Dead; Woman Delivers Healthy Baby Hours Later
Medical Negligence
Bhopal: In a shocking case of alleged medical negligence, doctors at the district hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna reportedly declared a 24-year-old pregnant woman's foetus dead, hours later, only for her to deliver a healthy baby just hours later at a private hospital.
The woman, who is a resident of Chakera village in Rampur Baghelan, was admitted to Amarpatan Civil Hospital in the early hours of July 16 with labour pains. Due to the high-risk nature of her pregnancy, she was referred to the district hospital in Satna, arriving around 7:30 am.
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The woman’s husband said his wife was not convinced by the diagnosis. Speaking to TOI, he said, “Despite being told there was no heartbeat, we felt we had to be sure before taking any step. We decided to get another scan done privately.”
The couple visited a private diagnostic centre in Bharhutnagar, where a repeat sonography confirmed that the fetus was, in fact, alive and healthy. The woman was then rushed to a private nursing home, where she delivered a 3.5 kg healthy baby boy via caesarean section.
The family has demanded strict action against the government hospital's staff for what they call gross negligence. "If we had followed their advice, our living baby would have died needlessly," a family member said while speaking to India Today.
Doctors at the private hospital said that when the patient arrived, her sonography was repeated. All vital signs and growth indicators were normal, so they proceeded with the delivery. The baby was born without complications, reports TOI.
An official inquiry has been launched into allegations of negligence at the district hospital following the incident. According to authorities in the maternity wing, the foetus was declared dead after both Doppler and sonography tests failed to detect a heartbeat during the initial examination.
Speaking to TOI, CMHO Dr L K Tiwari said that the matter came to light on Wednesday morning. A letter has been sent to the Dean of the Medical College and the Civil Surgeon. A detailed inquiry will be conducted, and strict action will be taken if any lapse is found.
Hospital sources revealed that three doctors are currently under scrutiny in the internal probe, including a senior resident in radiology who conducted the sonography and a senior resident in gynaecology.
