Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Jun 28: Chaos prevailed at Lady Goschen hospital here on Sunday June 28 after a newborn died, allegedly due to the negligence of the hospital doctors.
Prabhavati, wife of Aman from Kunjathbail here was admitted to Lady Goschen hospital for delivery on June 25. She delivered a boy baby weighing 2.5 kg the same day through caesarean.
The baby was said to be fine till 2 pm on Sunday, but at around 2.30 pm, the doctors found that the baby had turned blue and stopped breathing. Efforts to save the baby failed.
Speaking to reporters, Aman said that the baby was in good health, but the doctors at the hospital told him to get the blood test of the baby done at another hospital. "The baby was kept in incubator and due to its temperature, he died. It is due to the negligence of doctors," the father alleged.
Dr Rajesh, speaking to reporters said that the baby might have died due to aspiration of milk or due to suffocation during feeding.
"Nearly 20 ml of milk was found in the trachea of the baby. The doctors made all efforts to save the baby for about 20 minutes, but in vain. We then declared the baby dead and informed the father. We did our best to save the newborn. The post likely cause of death may be milk aspiration or suffocation when feeding, but only a post-mortem would reveal the exact cause. The family is alleging that current passed through the baby, but that is not possible. There is no such equipment here. We keep babies in warmer to adjust them to normal temperature, and there is no question of any current passing through," he added.
Asked why the baby was sent for blood test, a doctor at the hospital said that it was only to check for jaundice and had nothing to do with the baby's death. He also said that it was a normal procedure to keep newborn babies in the warmer.
Aneesh, a relative alleged that 'hospital doctors had killed the baby'. Relatives and locals held a flash protest at the hospital demanding health minister U T Khader to visit the spot and shouted slogans. However, the minister has left for Belagavi to attend the monsoon session which begins from Monday July 29.
As the protest grew stronger, DCP Shantaraju arrived at the spot and took control of the situation. After nearly half an hour of arguments, he finally managed to convince the protestors and asked them to file a complaint against the hospital.
The baby was taken to Wenlock for post-mortem and the mother Prabhavati was shifted to a private hospital.
The protestors also demanded to see the junior doctor who was present at the time of the baby's death. However, the hospital authorities and the police refused to allow them inside. Finally, only Prabhavati's husband and mother were allowed to meet the doctor.
The protest ended after it was decided to file a case against the hospital.