Mumbai: The father of a 15-year-old girl, who died of a virulent attack of tuberculosis in May last year, has filed a complaint with the Maharashtra Medical Council (MMC) alleging that doctors at K.J. Somaiya Hospital in Sion hurriedly discharged his daughter soon after the disease was diagnosed.
Kurla resident Kamlesh Singh has claimed that the doctors were not only negligent in discharging his daughter Kanu Priya, hospital staff were also extremely insensitive and passed comments that stigmatise a TB patient.
Kanu Priya, who had appeared for her Class X exam, had a sudden bout of fever and chills on April 26. She was taken to a local BMC hospital where medicines were started and she was tested for malaria. While the malaria test came negative, her condition didn’t improve. The family on May 2 took her to K.J. Somaiya Hospital where she was prescribed new medication. A blood test and chest x-ray were carried out. The next day, when Kanu Priya was taken to the hospital, Dr. Krupa Choksi, who was on duty, told the family that it looked like a case of TB along with water accumulation in her chest on the right side.
“They admitted her but said TB could be confirmed only after a sputum test and a CT scan. A junior doctor came to see her later in the day but none of the seniors, including unit head Dr. Murare Yeolekar, Dr. Arundhati Barua, Dr. NH Gill and Dr. Harshvardhan Dongre, attended to my daughter,” said an inconsolable Mr. Singh, who works as a manager in a housing society.
Kanu Priya was started on TB medication on May 5. The next day, her sputum reports confirmed TB. “She was then shifted to another room as TB is contagious,” said Mr. Singh, alleging that suddenly the doctors began coaxing them to take discharge.
While the hospital authorities claimed that they were asked to go to Sewri TB Hospital, Mr. Singh denies this. The question, however, remains why the doctors did not put the patient in an ambulance and transfer her to Sewri TB Hospital.
“My daughter was in a terrible condition. She could not even stand but the doctors did not listen to me at all. We were left with no choice but to take discharge,” he said, alleging that a junior doctor and a nurse told the family that they were at the risk of getting TB if the patient remained admitted. Humare doctors aur nurses ko bhi TB ho jayega (our doctors and nurses will also get TB), they said.
On May 7, Kanu Priya was again taken to the hospital as her condition worsened. She was put on an oxygen mask and the doctors used a defibrillation machine to revive her and then shifted her to the intensive care unit where she was put on a ventilator. “We were told that her condition was critical and she was declared dead at 8.15 p.m.,” said Mr. Singh, who has demanded action against all the doctors and the hospital’s dean for discharging his daughter even when her condition was critical. “We have lost everything. Our family has not been the same since the day she has gone,” he said, adding that she aspired to take up fashion designing or architecture. She had scored 75%. “After her death, when I approached the dean, Dr. Geeta Niyogi, with my grievance, she told me that the ventilator used on my daughter was now as good as damaged. It is really hurtful when doctors talk like this.”
We did everything….
An internal inquiry was set up after Mr. Singh approached the police. The hospital spokesperson said all the allegations of Mr. Singh were unfounded. “There are several TB patients receiving treatment and the ones who are sputum positive (open case) are transferred to Sewri TB Hospital. The patient was advised accordingly and not discharged hurriedly,” he said, adding that TB can spread to the staff and the attending relatives is a known fact and therefore it is appropriately conveyed.
“This is also a case of misunderstanding. For example, once a ventilator is used for an open case of TB, it needs to be fumigated,” he said. The case is currently pending with J.J. Hospital’s medical negligence committee. If this committee holds the doctors negligent, the police can register an FIR.
Greater risk
Kanu Priya weighed 51 kilograms. She did not suffer from loss of appetite, weight loss or any other TB symptoms. But she died within two weeks of the symptoms showing up. Doctors say in some patients who are low on nutrition, TB bacteria attacks with vengeance. In Kanu Priya’s case, both her lungs showed consolidation, which was probably caused by the TB. “In some cases, where the patient is malnourished, or has been directly attacked with drug resistant form of TB, the deterioration is rapid,” said pulmonologist Dr. Vikas Oswal.
Another doctor, who did not wish to be named, said hospitals not equipped with isolation wards and air infection control units have no choice but to send patients to Sewri TB Hospital. “If they don’t, they are simply putting other patients and staff at risk as the TB bacteria spreads rapidly through the air,” he explained, adding it would be wrong to blame hospital in such cases. “If at all, the problem lies with the way this is conveyed to the patients. Most doctors and staff don’t know how to convey this empathetically.”
