New-born’s death due to ‘negligence’ of docs alleged

New-born’s death due to ‘negligence’ of docs alleged
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 20
Grief-stricken Bashir Ahmed, a labourer from the Gool area in Ramban district, alleged today that his new-born baby boy died due to the negligence of doctors at the Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Hospital (SMGSH) here.

Zoya Begum, mother of the deceased baby, at the Shri Maharaja Gulab Singh Hospital in Jammu on Saturday. Tribune photo: Anand Sharma

Bashir’s wife, Zoya Begum, 40, had given birth to the baby prematurely yesterday. Bashir claimed that the hospital authorities had ‘declared’ the baby dead last evening. The grieving family members took it to a graveyard in the Gujjar Nagar area for burial but were surprised to see that it was breathing.

They immediately took the baby to the SMGSH where it was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (ICU). However, it died around 8 am today.

The aggrieved family alleged that the hospital authorities had ‘declared’ the baby dead yesterday while it died at the hospital today. However, the hospital authorities claimed that they had not declared the baby dead. “The baby was born premature on Friday morning and was too weak to survive. It weighed just 1 kg. We told the concerned family to shift it to the Neonatal ICU, but it thought the baby had died and took it away for burial without even performing any formality,” said Dr Dara Singh, Deputy Medical Superintendent of the hospital.

Terming it a result of the lack of proper communication, Dr Dara Singh added that, “Though the family has not lodged any complaint so far, we have ordered an internal inquiry into the incident.” He claimed that due to the staff shortage in the hospital no attendant accompanied the baby to the ICU.

However, Bashir, while attending to his wife, who is recuperating at the emergency block of the SMGSH, rued that had the hospital authorities acted immediately, the baby could have been saved.

“Before operating upon my wife, the doctors told us that the baby had died inside the womb and it was necessary to take it out. Otherwise, it could pose a threat to the mother’s life. But the baby was not stillborn,” said Bashir. He added that, “The baby died due to the negligence on the part of the doctors.”

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities said a pediatrician would now be deployed in the labour room permanently.