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Neuropsychiatrist booked for patient’s death due to negligence
In her complaint, Satpute alleged that Aditya was suffering from a psychological disorder and earlier also tried to die by suicide, hence he was admitted to the centre. Even after knowing about the past incidents, the doctor and the hospital staff did not take proper precautions during his treatment
A neuropsychiatrist from the Hadapsar area of Pune has been booked by the police for allegedly causing death by negligence of an 18- year-old. The staff of the hospital too have been booked in the matter.
The incident took place on October 10, 2020.
The deceased, Aditya Rajendra Satpute, a resident of Kalepadal area of Hadapsar was brought to Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre at Hadapsar for treatment of a psychological disorder. He allegedly died by suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of the hospital building during treatment.
Aditya’s mother Savita Satpute (39) has lodged a complaint against Dr Amar Shinde and the hospital staff.
In her complaint, Satpute alleged that Aditya was suffering from a psychological disorder and earlier also tried to die by suicide, hence he was admitted to Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre for treatment. Even after knowing about the past incidents, the doctor and the hospital staff did not take proper precautions during his treatment. Satpute alleged that, due to the negligence of the doctor and hospital staff, Aditya died by suicide. Satpute in her complaint alleged that the hospital staff assaulted Aditya when he called his family members.
Savita is a homemaker and her husband works as a teacher in a private school based in Hadapsar.
Arvind Gokule, a senior police inspector at Hadapsar police station, said, “After the initial investigation we have registered a case against the neuropsychiatrist and hospital staff.’’
“Considering patient’s previous suicidal attempt history, hospital and its staff should have taken proper care while treating such a patient,” he said.
Dr Shinde has refuted all the allegations. He said, “These are baseless allegations, police have visited the hospital and done an inquiry about the incident. The patient’s family members are threatening me and demanding money.’’
Soumutra Pathare, consultant psychiatrist, and director of the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy, said that every bad outcome is not negligence. “There is a difference between mistake and negligence. We have to maintain a balance between them.”
“For every psychological patient who has a history of suicidal attempts, risk assessment is a necessary thing. Patients have been categorised under high risk, medium risk and moderate risk and a further line of treatment have been defined. But this risk assessment is also not full proof. We can mitigate risk but can’t avoid it completely. In case of ‘gross negligence’ action will be taken against the concerned doctor,” he added.
“It is not good to speak about this particular case as I do not have all the details,” Pathare said.
According to the police, the case has been filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 304 (A) (death due to negligence), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 34 (a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention).
Police inspector Vishwas Dagale is investigating the case.
