Udaipur:
Doctors at an Udaipur hospital where a newborn died, allegedly of medical negligence, have been declared not guilty. The problem: This verdict is based on an inquiry conducted by other doctors at the same hospital.
In search of justice, the infant's father Ranjit Meghwal and his relatives came into Jaipur from Udaipur on Monday.
On Wednesday last week, doctors handling a C-section delivery nicked the arm of the baby. After the delivery, they bandaged the baby's arm and sent him to the nursery. The baby's parents were not informed of the accident. When they found their child bleeding in the nursery, they asked for help. Doctors initially dismissed their concerns, arguing that "this sort of thing happens in C-sections." They later did tend to the newborn, but on Friday night, the child died in hospital.
A grief-stricken father said, "When we unwrapped him, we found that a part of his right hand was cut. The doctor said that the baby's hand got cut while operating him with a blade."
And with no action for three days the family accuses the local administration of a cover up under pressure of powerful doctors.
"The doctors killed my child by the way they cut his arm and never took care. But instead of taking any action, they are just covering up and giving us excuses," Meghwal said.
When the hapless father finally met Rajasthan's Health Minister, his worst fears came true. The report from Udaipur had given a clean chit to all doctors, but when the father showed photographs of the child the report seemed quite inaccurate.
Even the minister admitted that prima facie the doctors seem guilty of gross negligence. And he ordered a fresh probe by Udaipur's Divisional Commissioner.
"Looking to the photos and listening to these people, it's not a satisfactory report. They have not taken the family's version into consideration. And they have not mentioned anything about the post-operative treatment of the child, which is what we want to know about because that's where the negligence seems to have happened," said A Ahmad, Health Minister, Rajasthan.
The government has also ordered the Udaipur police to register an FIR and begin a case of criminal negligence on the basis of the family's complaint.
Nobody can reduce the grief of a baby's parents whose child was child cruelly snatched before they could even hold him in their arms. But the Rajasthan government's step to fix responsibility for the incident is at least a step towards justice.
In search of justice, the infant's father Ranjit Meghwal and his relatives came into Jaipur from Udaipur on Monday.
On Wednesday last week, doctors handling a C-section delivery nicked the arm of the baby. After the delivery, they bandaged the baby's arm and sent him to the nursery. The baby's parents were not informed of the accident. When they found their child bleeding in the nursery, they asked for help. Doctors initially dismissed their concerns, arguing that "this sort of thing happens in C-sections." They later did tend to the newborn, but on Friday night, the child died in hospital.
A grief-stricken father said, "When we unwrapped him, we found that a part of his right hand was cut. The doctor said that the baby's hand got cut while operating him with a blade."
And with no action for three days the family accuses the local administration of a cover up under pressure of powerful doctors.
"The doctors killed my child by the way they cut his arm and never took care. But instead of taking any action, they are just covering up and giving us excuses," Meghwal said.
When the hapless father finally met Rajasthan's Health Minister, his worst fears came true. The report from Udaipur had given a clean chit to all doctors, but when the father showed photographs of the child the report seemed quite inaccurate.
Even the minister admitted that prima facie the doctors seem guilty of gross negligence. And he ordered a fresh probe by Udaipur's Divisional Commissioner.
"Looking to the photos and listening to these people, it's not a satisfactory report. They have not taken the family's version into consideration. And they have not mentioned anything about the post-operative treatment of the child, which is what we want to know about because that's where the negligence seems to have happened," said A Ahmad, Health Minister, Rajasthan.
The government has also ordered the Udaipur police to register an FIR and begin a case of criminal negligence on the basis of the family's complaint.
Nobody can reduce the grief of a baby's parents whose child was child cruelly snatched before they could even hold him in their arms. But the Rajasthan government's step to fix responsibility for the incident is at least a step towards justice.
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