In a shocking case of medical negligence, a senior doctor at All India Institute of Medical Sciences allegedly performed a procedure required for dialysis treatment on a 30-year-old woman who had complained of abdominal pain. He then allegedly tampered with documents to cover up his fault.
The institute said that prima facie it seems to be a case of “lack of clear coordination and negligence”.
A committee has been formed under the chairmanship of Dean Dr. Y. K. Gupta to probe the incident.
Rekha Devi, a resident of Saharsa in Bihar, had come to AIIMS for treatment of a complication caused by an abdominal surgery she had undergone at a hospital in her home town. At AIIMS, she was taken to the minor operation theatre for an abdominal exam under local anaesthesia on February 7.
Nursing report
The nursing report recorded that the doctor, who was told that the patient had complained of abdominal pain, made an arteriovenous (AV) fistula, a standard vascular procedure used to access blood for hemodialysis treatment in patients with chronic kidney disease.
After the procedure, a talk with the patient revealed that she did not suffer from any kidney ailment, a source at AIIMS said.
“The patient and the attendants were counselled regarding the adverse event and a corrective procedure was done the next day,” the preliminary inquiry report read, adding: “A wrong surgery was performed, which has not been documented in the patient records but was mentioned in the nursing report book”.
The incident was reported to the unit head, Dr. Sunil Chumber, who ordered an inquiry, which found that the doctor had performed a ‘wrong surgery and had tried to cover up the incident by changing the documents’, the source said.
Another inquiry ordered by medical superintendent Dr. D. K. Sharma also indicted the doctor and suggested withdrawing the assistant professor ‘from all clinical work’, added the source.
(With PTI inputs)
