E-Paper
3 years after 38-year-old man’s death, GMSH-16 doc booked for death by negligence
Closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) footage purportedly showed that within a minute of his arrival, he began to collapse. Despite this, the attending emergency medical officer (EMO), Dr Gurman, conducted a brief examination and left for his room. Gautam was left unattended on a stretcher for nearly half an hour.
A doctor at Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH) Sector-16, Chandigarh, was booked for causing death due to negligence, nearly three years after a 38-year-old city resident died at the hospital.
The complaint was lodged by widow of the deceased, Sourabh Gautam, 38.
As per the FIR, Gautam had arrived at the emergency room of GMSH-16 at around 2:43 pm on November 21, 2021. Closed-circuit television camera (CCTV) footage purportedly showed that within a minute of his arrival, he began to collapse. Despite this, the attending emergency medical officer (EMO), Dr Gurman, conducted a brief examination and left for his room. Gautam was left unattended on a stretcher for nearly half an hour.
The complaint details that it was not until a member of the public intervened that Gautam was moved to the medical room. Despite this, Dr Gurman attended to Gautam only for a brief period before returning to his office. Gautam’s condition continued to deteriorate, and he was pronounced dead later that afternoon.
The FIR raised further concerns regarding discrepancies in the medical records provided by the hospital. The records were noted to have multiple overwrites and corrections, particularly in time entries, raising suspicions of tampering. According to FIR, the key documents, including ECG records and the OPD card, were missing, and the admission time noted on the records did not align with the sequence of events captured by the CCTV footage.
The complaint also highlighted a signed consent form obtained from Gautam’s brother-in-law under distress, which contained blank spaces, and had been signed after Gautam had already been declared dead.
Police have booked Dr Gurman, EMO & others at GMSH-16, Chandigarh, under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Sector-17 police station. Investigation is on in the matter.
Dr Suman Singh, director health services, UT, said that she was not aware of the matter. Meanwhile, Dr Gurman did not comment on the matter, saying, “Being a government doctor, I am not authorised to talk on the matter.”
