: In just a week after the last maternal death left patients and doctors rattled, the incident has exposed disgruntlement over ascension to the top job among the medical fraternity at Niloufer Hospital.
The State government on Friday shunted out superintendent C. Suresh Kumar and RMO K. Usha Rani, and appointed the superintendent of Government Maternity Hospital, Sultan Bazar as superintendent of Niloufer Hospital. According to sources, the move did not go down well with aspirants to superintendent’s office. These senior doctors raised the issue with doctor’s associations, questioning why a gynaecologist was appointed to the top post in what is considered a paediatric hospital.
“It was made clear to the senior doctors that this is the wrong time to be discussing appointment and power play amidst the hospital and government’s effort to determine cause of deaths,” a doctor at the hospital, said.
“These deaths have left gynaecologists unnerved. They now fear to even perform a normal delivery. This in turn has affected patients.”
Those in the know also say that the government has not arrived at the root cause of deaths yet but apprehends that more could have been done by the administration to pre-empt deaths, warranting removal of two senior doctors from the hospital. The district collector of Hyderabad, Rahul Bhojja, is entrusted with the inquiry.
In a new twist to the events, word spread on Saturday that government may make yet another replacement at the helm of the hospital. The health administration however denied such plans.
When contacted, M. Ramani, the Director of Medical Education clarified that the government intends to make no such change.
“A gynaecologist has been appointed to boost the morale of the hospital’s gynaecologists and aid in the inquiry. Understanding the causes for deaths and restoring faith among patients is essential for us,” Dr. Ramani said.
