Gynaecology head of ludhiana Civil Hospital put under suspension for ‘dereliction of duty’
Acting tough, the Punjab Government on Monday ordered an enquiry into the deaths of five newborns in ludhiana Civil Hospital and also placed the hospital’s gynaecology head Alka Mittal under suspension for “dereliction of duty”.
This apart, the senior medical officer Dr RK Karkara has also been transferred “for not maintaining discipline in the medical institution”. Four new-borns were died on Sunday, while another death has been reported on Monday.
Giving out a clear message that those found negligent “would not be spared”, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the officers to ascertain the “causes and circumstances” which led to the incident and submit the inquiry report at the earliest.
The probe committee, headed by the State Special Secretary (Health) Vikas Garg, recorded the statement of senior medical officer and other staff.
Assuring prompt action, Badal said that if laxity was found on the part of any public servant in dealing with this incident, he or she would “not be spared and brought to book as per the law of the land”. Badal, condoling the death of new-borns at ludhiana Civil Hospital, terming the incident as “unfortunate”.
“A high level probe has already been ordered into the sad and unfortunate demise of the infants. ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Rajat Agarwal has been asked to hold a thorough inquiry and submit the report to the government within a week. He has also been asked to have his own team of officers whether from head office or district to hold an independent inquiry into the entire incident,” said the state Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani.
“After the inquiry report, if any one from the health department was found guilty of carelessness or laxity in any manner then the department would give Rs one lakh compensation to the families of the children,” he said.
Head gynaecologist Alka Mittal was placed under suspension after preliminary enquiries revealed that she did not come to the Civil Hospital in ludhiana on Sunday on time, forcing the hospital staff to carry out the deliveries.
Jayani had ordered a probe against Mittal on Sunday evening. The same doctor had been charge sheeted by the state health department earlier this month for negligence in discharging her duties.
Defending, Mittal had claimed that five delivery cases were already in critical condition when the mothers were brought to the hospital. She had said that the pregnant women were being shifted to the old wing of the hospital as the Operation Theatre in the new mother-child wing was not functional.
However, she could not justify her absence during duty hours and why the hospital staff had to carry out the deliveries instead of doctors.
Three days after the inauguration of a mother-child wing at the hospital, four new-borns died on Sunday during delivery, which the families alleged were carried out by “Class-IV employees in the absence of gynaecologists”.
Affected families alleged that no doctors were available for delivery and the hospital staff, that is class IV employees, started conducting the procedure, leading to the deaths.