Row over Amethi hospital rubs salt into patients’ wounds

Patients under treatment here don’t know where to go; medical staff starts satyagrah seeking revocation of suspension of licence.

Lucknow: Sitting on a cot in his house in Jamo village, Paras Nath Pandey, 60, is pondering where to go. The injury in his right limb is treated halfway and he is still in pain, but cannot see the doctor as the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi, where he was being treated, is shut after the UP health department suspended its licence following the death of a 22-year-old woman in a case of medical negligence.

Medical staff on a ‘satyagrah’ at the main gate of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi. (Sourced)

“I was under treatment for 15 days after I slipped on the floor and broke my leg. I know the hospital got closed after a patient’s death, but why should all patients be made to suffer,” lamented Pandey, who retired from a private job recently.

Another patient, Saroj Tiwari, 50, who was awaiting her hip bone surgery, slated on October 5, said: “The day I went to get an estimate for the operation, I was told a patient had died and the hospital has been shut down entirely. Death is unfortunate and action should be taken against the guilty, but why make all other patients suffer for one case.”

Saroj lives in Narayanpur, some 18 kms from the hospital, and was under treatment of orthopaedic surgeon Dr Chetan Tiwari.

Several other patients have similar issues as they need surgery.

On Tuesday, medical staff of the 350-bed hospital started a ‘satyagrah’ at its main gate, demanding revocation of the suspension of hospital’s licence.

The hospital in Amethi provides health care facilities to over 600 patients in a day on an average who come here in the OPD to see a doctor. They come here from Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Sultanpur districts apart from Amethi. The 350-bed hospital’s licence was suspended recently following the death of a woman patient.

The emergency wing of the hospital attends to over 40 cases a day.

On the directions of deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak, a three-member team led by additional CMO Dr Ram Prasad conducted a probe into the matter. In its report, the department found laxity in treatment given to Divya Shukla, 22, and said the woman could have been saved had specialist doctors reached the hospital or timely referral was processed, said health department officials.

On September 14, Divya was taken to the hospital after she complained of stomach ache. After examining her, the doctor suggested an operation to remove stones in her gallbladder. The next day, she was admitted to the hospital but slipped into a coma after receiving anaesthesia prior to the surgery. She was then referred to the Medanta Hospital in Lucknow, where she died.

The suspension of the hospital’s licence triggered a war of words between the Congress and the BJP. While the grand old party termed the suspension of licence “political vendetta”, the ruling party said there had been instances of “medical negligence” in the hospital earlier too.

Senior Congress leader and Rae Bareli MP Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the trust that runs the hospital while Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are its members.

“I cannot oppose probe against the hospital, but why shut down the entire hospital for a fault, if any, in one department,” said Paras Nath Pandey, who lives 27 kms away from the hospital where he needs to go and now sees no option.

“I was under Dr Tiwari’s treatment…can’t change the doctor as I have complete faith in him,” said Saroj Tiwari.

The hospital authorities filed a reply to the health department, pointing out that the initial probe gave them three months’ time to a file reply, but the licence was suspended within 24 hours of initial notice.