Medical officer, two nurses booked for negligence

Police inquiry holds the three accused responsible for the death of a newborn.

MANSEHRA:


The police have registered a criminal case against a woman medical officer and two nurses for negligence that caused the death of a newborn. However, none of the accused has been arrested yet.


Muhammad Ali, a resident of Dabgran village, filed a complaint with the police, accusing the duty officer at the gynaecology ward and her nursing staff at King Abdullah Teaching Hospital of negligence that led to the death of his newborn baby.


In his application, Ali said that he took his expectant wife to the hospital with labour pain on August 19 and the medical officer, Dr Salim, referred her to the gynaecology ward. He said the ward in-charge, Dr Bushra Manan, and two nurses, Shaheen and Rizwana, advised her to revisit the hospital on August 24. He said they did not admit her into the hospital or provide her any medication for the pain.

The complainant said that when he took his wife to the hospital on the prescribed date, she was admitted and taken to the labour room, where Dr Sahira was on duty that evening. He accused the doctor and her subordinate staff of not attending his wife properly and instead going to sleep after giving her some medicines. He further said that his wife delivered the baby without adequate care and insisted that the baby died after birth.

When contacted, the medical superintendant of the hospital, Dr Niaz, maintained that the baby was stillborn and did not die during the delivery.

Despite of the medical superintendant’s clarification, the police conducted an inquiry on Ali’s complaint and found Dr Bushra Manan and the staff nurses responsible for the death of the newborn.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4th, 2012.
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