Father files police case after infant dies of infection at Fortis Gurgaon - Hindustan Times
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Father files police case after infant dies of infection at Fortis Gurgaon

hindustan times | By, Gurgaon
Mar 15, 2018 10:46 PM IST

A five-member panel of medical experts had last September held the hospital responsible for the death of the child

In yet another case of medical negligence at Fortis hospital, the father of a one-and-half-year-old boy from Ranjeet Nagar in New Delhi has lodged a police complaint against the hospital.

Police said they will seek a medical opinion before filing an FIR in the matter.(Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)
Police said they will seek a medical opinion before filing an FIR in the matter.(Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

A five-member panel of medical experts had last September held the hospital responsible for the death of the child, who had succumbed to an infection.

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Refuting allegations of negligence, the hospital said the child was treated as per the “best medical protocol and parents were informed of risks involved in the procedure”.

In his complaint, Sanjeev Sharma, father of Vansh, said his son suffered from a genetic disease and required a bone marrow transplant (BMT), for which the hospital gave him a package of Rs 13 lakh but he ended up paying nearly Rs 27 lakh.

The boy was admitted to the hospital on April 24, 2017, and the BMT was conducted on May 1. The child suffered from fever and was given antibiotics and shifted to the paediatric ICU on May 15. He died the same day.

Sharma had filed a complaint at the CM Window after which a medical board was formed on September 13 to study the matter. The board was headed by Dr SS Saroha; two paediatricians from Civil Hospital Dr Rakesh Pathak and Dr DS Yadav, Dr Sanjay Narula, and Indian Medical Association (IMA) Gurgaon president Dr Naresh Kumar.

“It was the responsibility of hospital to provide an infection-free environment to patients. The hospital claimed that his room was the most sterile room and the parents were charged for it. But Fortis hospital could not ensure an infection-free environment due to which the patient caught infection that further led to complications. In the board’s opinion, infection to the patient was due to the hospital’s negligence,” the two-page report concluded in January this year.

“My father died on January 22 due to which I could not pursue the case. Now, I want action against the hospital and I have approached the police,” Sharma said.

Sudeep Singh, SHO Sushant Lok 1, said, “The complaint has been received today. We will seek a medical opinion in the case before filing an FIR.”

“The board had found that the child suffered from a rare disease and the team of doctors that carried out the BMT was qualified. The transplant was also of a rare kind. But medical negligence was found in not providing an infection-free environment,” Dr Naresh Sharma said.

A hospital spokesperson said, “While we have not received any formal information from any authority, we refute all allegations of negligence in the case related to Vansh. The patient was suffering from Hunter’s Disease, a rare genetic disorder with very high mortality rate, for which he underwent a bone marrow transplant, a procedure that is conducted in very few specialised hospitals in the country. The family was duly informed about the risks and benefits of the procedure and all consents were taken, as per protocol. The patient was critically immuno-compromised and the family decided to opt for BMT at FMRI, after taking the opinion from multiple hospitals of international repute. The child was treated as per best medical protocol available in the country. While the pain and despair of the family is understandable, blaming doctors and the hospital is unfair without understanding the medical facts of the case.”

On December 9 last year, an FIR was filed against the hospital under section 304 (2) of the IPC against a doctor of the hospital who was involved in treatment of 7-year-old girl Adya Singh, a dengue patient who died in September.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Rashpal Singh covers socio-economic and development issues in Gurgaon and adjoining districts. A journalist for over a decade with stints in Shimla, Chandigarh and Jaipur, he also writes on transport, local administration and the district BJP.

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