Medical Negligence - Delhi HC sends summons

New Delhi, Aug 8 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Wednesday summoned Delhi's principal health secretary and the medical superintendent of the government-run Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital to explain why its order on improving patient care was not implemented.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice M.K. Sarma asked the top officials to appear in person before it on the next date of hearing Sep 10 as the authorities had failed to execute the order to improve the condition of the hospital and provide better treatment to the patients.

The court-appointed commissioners - Rajiv Bansal and Varun Goswami - complained to the court that the authorities were not cooperating with them when they visited the hospital for inspection.

Despite repeated requests, the hospital authorities did not provide them with identity cards for facilitating their visit to wards and theatres, they said.

Advocate Varun Goswami had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the hospital for improving its condition as more than 500 newborn babies had died in the 'out-born nursery' there due to the lack of proper facilities for treatment few years back.

The petitioner alleged that newborn babies were treated in a "grossly neglected and unattended" manner in the nursery as it did not have proper and separate staff and the equipment installed there were obsolete.

Referring to the sole ventilator used for treatment of newborn babies, the petitioner said that it was procured more than two decades ago in 1987 and at present it did not display vital signs like the heart beat rate or pulmonary functions.

Most of the time, it showed error and was dysfunctional, Goswami stated.

Quoting some doctors of the hospital, he alleged that babies admitted to the nursery seldom survived when put on the ventilator, and about 500 babies had so far died due to the faulty medical equipment.

The hospital authorities had spent huge amounts of money on irrelevant activities but had not bothered to procure new ventilators, he alleged.

Also, the hospital had only two phototherapy machines to treat neonatal jaundice and sometimes as many as three babies were placed together in each machine exposing them to an increased and fatal risk of infection, the petitioner said.

Medical Negligence - Delhi HC orders judicial probe

New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Friday ordered a judicial probe into the alleged medical negligence by doctors at a government-owned hospital which led to the amputation of a one-year-old child's limb earlier this year.

A division bench of Justices T.S. Thakur and S.N. Agrawal ordered the additional chief metropolitan magistrate (ACMM) of New Delhi to conduct the probe and file a report in three months.

"We direct the ACMM of New Delhi to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the alleged medical negligence and submit a report to the court. The medical superintendent of the hospital has been directed to pay Rs.10,000 to the family of Jai, the child, as an interim measure."

In January, Jai was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital with a fractured leg. His leg was plastered below the waist, but the skin festered under the cast and his foot started to detach from the ankle, forcing doctors to perform an amputation March 5.

According to a preliminary report submitted to the court, the plaster cast was so tight that it pressed on a sensitive nerve and disrupted blood supply.

Pushpa, Jai's mother, said: "On Jan 21, we noticed boils showing through his (Jai's) plaster and immediately rushed him to the hospital."

When the plaster was cut open, the child's leg was covered with boils, and the skin had turned red and was peeling off, she added.

Jai's father Ram Babu, a tailor, added: "I went to all the senior doctors, but they refused to meet us. I went to the medical superintendent's office, but I was told he would not meet me. A senior official asked me to slug it out in the court if I had the money."

On Feb 21, to the horror of his parents, Jai's right foot began to detach from the ankle.

"I was horrified. I cried and pleaded with the doctors to save my only son," said Pushpa.

Jai's leg was then amputated below the ankle, leaving him crippled for the rest of his life.

However, the doctors said it is a common thing in orthopaedic cases.

"It happens. It is a common thing in orthopaedic cases. Every card issued to the patients bears a note saying that if they notice a boil or any sign of blood blockage, they should inform us," the doctors allegedly told the parents.

Metronow, a city-based tabloid, reported a doctor as saying, "Jai suffered because his parents did not inform us in time."

Refuting the allegations, Ram Babu told the tabloid that as soon as he saw a boil peeping out of the plaster, he rushed his son to the hospital Jan 21, but the doctors did not take proper care of him.

The tailor, who earns a meagre Rs.2,000 per month, has already shelled out more than Rs.40,000 on his son's treatment. Despite lodging a complaint against the doctors concerned, he said the police were yet to take any action.