Patient dies in Odisha as doctor fails to return from break in time

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Mar 20, 2015 at 2:07 AM Updated On : Mar 20, 2015 at 2:08 AM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Nayagarh, Mar 19:

A patient lost her life in Odisha’s Nayagarh district headquarters hospital on Thursday as the doctor left the patient in a critical condition and took a break but never came back until she was dead.

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The family has lodged a complaint in the Nayagarh Town Police station accusing the doctor of criminal negligence.

The patient, identified as Reena Barik, hails from Bakala Bandha village under Nuagaon Police Station limits. She had been admitted to the hospital after she had labour pain.

Dr Harekrushna Satapathy, the doctor on duty checked her condition and suggested to her family members to shift her to another hospital as her condition was critical and left the hospital.

Even after repeated requests of the family members, the doctor took a long time to come back and treat the patient, who breathed her last while the doctor was making preparations for a surgery.

“He kept me waiting till 12 to 1 and expressed his inability to carry out the surgery when her condition was critical and suggested to me that she be shifted to Cuttack or Bhubaneswar. I wish he had informed me earlier. I couldn’t have moved a patient in such a critical condition. The doctor then assured me to wait till he comes back from a break and conducts the Caesarian surgery. But he never came back. My wife died because of his negligence,” rued Lochan Barika, husband of the deceased.

The doctor, however, has denied any negligence in treatment.

“There has been no negligence in treatment. We had been around her, treated her and tried to get the delivery done. Her condition; however, deteriorated. We did follow the emergency medical procedure but couldn’t save her. Earlier, we had tried for a normal delivery as per the request of the family members and attempted Caesarian when it failed,” said doctor Satapathy.

“The husband of the deceased has alleged that the death of the patient was caused by negligence in treatment on the part of the doctor. We are looking into the allegation and will act accordingly,” said Abhimanyu Satapthy, CDMO of Nayagarh.