‘Medical negligence’ at BBH: Baby’s death sparks protest

RAWALPINDI:

Parents and relatives protested at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) on Monday after a newborn girl died during a C-section procedure.

Parents blamed the doctor for delaying operating on the baby that led to her death.

BBH administration, however, refuted the claim saying the family forced the doctor to operate hurriedly, which may have caused the death.

PML-N’s Hanif Abbasi has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The baby’s mother told The Express Tribune she was shifted from the labour room to the emergency ward on Friday night due to medical complications.  “My repeated cardio-topography tests showed the baby’s heartbeat was getting low,” she said.

“Sensing danger, I kept requesting doctors to perform a C-section. However, they showed reluctance,” she added.

Her husband, Sher Aslam, said “At first doctors told us it is a normal case and the patient will be discharged by Saturday”.

As the case got complicated, Aslam was asked to sign a consent letter for the operation at 11 pm. According to the woman, as the doctors hurriedly decided to do an operation, the baby had already died.

Medical Superintendent Dr Asif Qadir Mir said relatives forced the doctor to operate on the patient in haste, adding initial reports showed the baby was still alive after birth.

“After the operation, I was asked to sign another clearance certificate and not allowed to meet my wife or the baby. I got suspicious so I refused to sign,” said Sher. The relatives, meanwhile, lodged an FIR at the Waris Khan Police Station against the hospital staff.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2015.