Bhubaneswar: Medical negligence allegedly claimed lives of two women and a newborn in three districts of Odisha in the last 48 hours.
A 34-year-old woman died after an emergency caesarean section and her newborn son sustained serious injury during the procedure, allegedly due to medical negligence, at Pandit Raghunath Murmu Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Baripada.
The deceased has been identified as Balli Hansdah, a resident of Pokharia village under Kendupokharia panchayat.
According to sources, his wife began experiencing labour pains on Wednesday night and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, where a gynaecologist examined her around 11.30 pm and recommended an immediate C-section due to excessive bleeding and the baby’s abnormal position. However, post-operation, the newborn boy was found with a deep cut injury of around one-and-a-half inches long on his back, which had already been stitched.
When questioned, a nurse reportedly informed the family that the injury occurred during the surgery. The infant, whose condition was critical, was shifted to the special newborn care unit. Meanwhile, Balli’s health deteriorated following the procedure, and she was pronounced dead around 11.30 am on Thursday.
Her husband, Bugai Hansdah, alleged that his wife’s condition showed no improvement after the caesarean. He also described the newborn’s stitched back injury as “grievous.”
The incident sparked outrage among his relatives and local villagers, who gathered at the hospital premises demanding strict action against the doctor concerned. Bugai subsequently filed a formal complaint with the police, demanding a thorough investigation into his wife’s death and the arrest of the doctor.
Hospital superintendent Prativa Panda stated that an internal inquiry would be conducted and appropriate action will be taken if the doctor is found guilty.
Similarly in Kandhamal district, a newborn died after a normal delivery, which was allegedly conducted by a staff nurse in the absence of doctor, at the primary health centre at Balandapada. She was kept in Balandapada Maa Gruha for two days, where her condition was stable, before being shifted to the govt health facility on Thursday. The woman-newborn duo was referred to the district headquarters hospital at Phulbani in a critical condition. The infant was declared dead there.
“She went through labour pain for almost two hours from 7 pm to 9 pm. If they were unable to handle the case, they could have referred us to Phulbani. They insisted on having the delivery here and killed my child,” said the father.
While the hospital authorities are yet to issue a statement on the incident, Town Police have started an investigation into the allegations.
On Thursday, Jagatsinghpur administration sealed a private hospital in connection with the death of a pregnant woman due to alleged medical negligence.
Sushree Sangeeta Sahoo, wife of Shakti Prasad Sahoo from Dondua village under Jagatsinghpur Sadar police limits, was admitted to the private hospital on Wednesday morning due to pregnancy-related complications. As her condition worsened, doctors recommended transferring her to a private medical college and hospital in Bhubaneswar for advanced care. Unfortunately, her health deteriorated rapidly during the journey, and she was declared dead on arrival at the facility in the state capital.
Following allegations of medical negligence, the hospital was sealed in the presence of senior officials of the district administration including the Sub-Collector and the Chief District Medical Officer after shifting the patients to the district headquarters hospital.
