Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi on Friday wrote to Uttar Pradesh deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak urging him to reconsider the suspension of licence of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Amethi by health department following the death of a 22-year-old woman in a case of alleged medical negligence. Gandhi said that the suspension has far-reaching implications for the region’s health care access, employment and education as a large number of people depend on the hospital for primary health care services.
“I earnestly request you to reconsider the suspension decision, initiate an impartial inquiry and ensure that the hospital can continue to provide critical healthcare services to the people of Uttar Pradesh, while safeguarding jobs and educational opportunities,” Varun Gandhi said in the letter.
“By doing so, we can collectively prioritise justice, fairness and the overall well-being of those who depend on the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital for their healthcare needs, while preserving its esteemed historical legacy,” he added. The hospital is named after his late father Sanjay Gandhi.
The 100-bed Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, the foundation stone of which was laid by former prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1982, has been in operation in the district since 1989. The Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust runs the hospital. Senior Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the trust.
On Sunday, police registered a case of death by medical negligence against four employees of the hospital, including its chief executive officer, over the death of the woman. The 22-year-old was admitted to the hospital on September 14 after she complained of a stomachache. Her condition worsened before undergoing gallbladder surgery and she was referred to a private hospital in Lucknow where she died on September 16. The family of the woman alleged that she died because of anaesthesia overdose at Sanjay Gandhi hospital following which a first information report was filed on September 17.
{{/usCountry}}On Sunday, police registered a case of death by medical negligence against four employees of the hospital, including its chief executive officer, over the death of the woman. The 22-year-old was admitted to the hospital on September 14 after she complained of a stomachache. Her condition worsened before undergoing gallbladder surgery and she was referred to a private hospital in Lucknow where she died on September 16. The family of the woman alleged that she died because of anaesthesia overdose at Sanjay Gandhi hospital following which a first information report was filed on September 17.
{{/usCountry}}Taking cognizance of the incident, district health officials also ordered a probe and constituted a three-member inquiry team, led by additional chief medical officer. On September 18, the hospital’s licence was suspended by the district health officials, citing prima facie evidence of medical negligence.
Health officials in their report stated that the patient became serious after being administered the anaesthesia dose but was shifted to ventilator support 80 minutes later, which amounts to negligence. “The woman needed specialist care which she was not provided. She sustained a heart attack but instead of giving her the needed care in the first or the golden hour, she was referred to Medanta Hospital in Lucknow, 12 hours after the attack. The hospital did not have a cardiologist,” the probe report by a panel of three doctors, including an anaesthetist said.
“The chief medical officer of Amethi told us that there are two major causes of negligence. First, they did not shift the patient to ventilator immediately from the operating theatre and second, the hospital delayed in referring the patient though they did not have cardiologist with them,” Uttar Pradesh director general medical health Dr Deepa Tyagi said.
Meanwhile, deputy CM Brajesh Pathak, who holds the health portfolio, on Friday told HT, “The law does not work differently for the high or the low. The FIR was lodged, and the team constituted by the chief medical officer Amethi to conduct a probe. The hospital was not competent enough to treat the patient.”