Jaipur:
When 16-year-old Diksha Sharma was admitted to Jaipur's largest government hospital, her family was relieved. She was diagnosed with pneumonia, but because her aunt worked at the hospital, Diksha's parents believed their child was in good hands. Diksha died on Monday afternoon, three hours after the hospital refused to move her into the Intensive Care Unit for emergency care because of what hospital authorities today described as a communication gap.
The teenager was admitted on Sunday to Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital and doctors began treating her for pneumonia. Two and a half hours later, she began having trouble breathing. On Monday, a senior doctor Dr Ganpat Devpura checked on Diksha during his rounds. He felt her condition was deteriorating and wanted her to be moved to the Intensive Care Unit so that she could be put on a ventilator.
Diksha's aunt, Gayatri Agarwal, who works on the clerical staff at the hospital, shared this recommendation personally with the medical superintendent, Dr LC Sharma. He reportedly said that he needed instructions directly from the senior doctor who had attended to Diksha. Because Dr Devpura had left the hospital, his assistant , called Dr Sharma who said he needed to hear from Dr Devpura himself.
The superintendent then left for a meeting. According to the family of the victim, Dr Devpura tried calling him but the superintendent did not answer the phone.
Three hours after a senior doctor had asked for her to be moved to the ICU, Diksha, who was studying to be a chartered accountant, died because of acute respiratory distress syndrome
Dr L C Sharma refused to talk to NDTV today. The hospital's additional superintendent Dr Randhir said there was "an unfortunate lack of communcation" which prevented Diksha from being moved to the ICU. He admitted that the teenager was not allowed into the ICU because the medical superintendent had not been able to speak personally with Diksha's doctors.
Diksha's relatives have filed a police case alleging medical negligence.
The teenager was admitted on Sunday to Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital and doctors began treating her for pneumonia. Two and a half hours later, she began having trouble breathing. On Monday, a senior doctor Dr Ganpat Devpura checked on Diksha during his rounds. He felt her condition was deteriorating and wanted her to be moved to the Intensive Care Unit so that she could be put on a ventilator.
Diksha's aunt, Gayatri Agarwal, who works on the clerical staff at the hospital, shared this recommendation personally with the medical superintendent, Dr LC Sharma. He reportedly said that he needed instructions directly from the senior doctor who had attended to Diksha. Because Dr Devpura had left the hospital, his assistant , called Dr Sharma who said he needed to hear from Dr Devpura himself.
The superintendent then left for a meeting. According to the family of the victim, Dr Devpura tried calling him but the superintendent did not answer the phone.
Three hours after a senior doctor had asked for her to be moved to the ICU, Diksha, who was studying to be a chartered accountant, died because of acute respiratory distress syndrome
Dr L C Sharma refused to talk to NDTV today. The hospital's additional superintendent Dr Randhir said there was "an unfortunate lack of communcation" which prevented Diksha from being moved to the ICU. He admitted that the teenager was not allowed into the ICU because the medical superintendent had not been able to speak personally with Diksha's doctors.
Diksha's relatives have filed a police case alleging medical negligence.
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