Hospital probed death of a newborn and held the doctor responsible for error of judgement

Soumita Majumdar. Bangalore

"Manha" in Arabic means the Gift of Allah. The alleged negligence of a gynaecologist at a city-based private hospital denied Manha, their first born, to Manzar Imam and Madhiya Tarannum.

Almost a month after the death of newborn Manha, the hospital said the gynaecologist "is no longer in service."

"We had detailed discussions with Manha's family and we are initiating certain actions as demanded by them. The doctor concerned will not be with Columbia Asia Hospital today onwards," Dr Nandakumar Jairam, chairman of the hospital, told this newspaper on Monday.

Tarannum was admitted to the hospital in Hebbal after the amniotic fluid (bag of water) started leaking on June 18, more than a month before the due date.

"Tarannum was administered steroids to accelerate the baby's growth. We were told that steroids would help developing the lungs," Imam said.

The expectant mother was kept under observation over the next two days.

"We got a chance to interact with the doctor only by June 20 midnight. By then my wife was detected with blood infection," he said.

The hospital induced labour pain on June 21 using gel therapy. Tarannum was later shifted to the labour room with dosages of intravenous fluid to further induce the pain.

When the pain became unbearable, Tarannum was reportedly given an epidural injection. Meanwhile, she had developed high fever.

When Tarannum's condition remained the same, a concerned Imam asked the gynaec for an explanation. "She asked me to attend a medical school to understand medical terminology," he further said.

"Manha was born on June 21 without heartbeat and respiration. A specialist succeeded in making the heart beat. We shifted the baby to the hospital's Yeshwantpur branch which has the ventilator facility," Imam said.

The baby died of cardiac arrest around 3.45 am on June 22. "The paediatrician told us that the baby was not handled properly during the labour and delivery," the bereaved father said.

Imam said the hospital probed the matter and admitted to an error of judgement by the doctor. m_soumita@dnaindia.net