Probe by three-member committee

Panel comprising gynaecologist, pathologist and anaesthetist told to submit report in three days

A view of the Emergency OT at Vani Vilas Hospital.— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

A day after The Hindu reported on eight maternal deaths within a span of 10 days in the State-run Vani Vilas Hospital for Women and Children, a three-member committee has been set up to probe the reason for the deaths.

The women, who delivered through lower segmental caesarean section (LSCS), died in the hospital between November 7 and November 17.

Minister of State for Medical Education Sharan Prakash R. Patil told

The Hindu on Tuesday that the committee – comprising a gynaecologist, pathologist and anaesthetist – has been asked to submit its report within three days. “We will decide on what needs to be done after the report is submitted,” he said.

Meanwhile, sources in the hospital said that the Medical Superintendent Gangadhar B. Belavadi and Resident Medical Officer Kamalakshi were huddled in a meeting with doctors. The doctors, who deliberated on the fact that the hospital has no intensivist in the ICU, also discussed the increasing work load, sources said.

High risk

According to a doctor, who retired recently from Vani Vilas, most of the maternal deaths in the hospital usually occurred either because of high risk pregnancy or because the case would have been referred at the end stage from other small hospitals. “Half of nearly 50 deliveries that are conducted in the hospital every day are high risk cases,” the doctor said.

“If the problem is with the drugs, the quality control wing of Karnataka State Drugs Logistics and Warehousing Society can detect the problem on priority. What is required is inter-departmental coordination and regular monitoring by senior doctors,” he said.

Former president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI) Hema Divakar, who worked with the Union Health Ministry in getting software for recording maternal death review (MDR), said post-partum haemorrhage and pulmonary embolism continue to remain the standard reasons for maternal mortality in the country.