Poovakka of Arlapadavu near Puttur (70), who died after a surgery was performed on her under the Government Vajpayee Arogyashree Yojana, had gone to a health camp to get specialists’ attention for her high sugar level. Mother of nine-year-old Aishat Haseena — who too passed away after a surgery under the scheme — had taken her child to the camp hoping for better treatment for intellectual disability.
Family members of Poovakka and Aishat Haseena are distraught over the deaths after the cardiac surgeries conducted at Omega Hospital in Mangaluru.
“My mother-in-law’s only concern was high sugar level,” recalled Parimala. “She went with neighbours to the hospital on March 11 hoping to return the same evening,” she said. The police have registered a case against the hospital for medical negligence.
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The family members said they were shocked to see a drastic change in Poovakka following the surgery on March 18. Poovakka had pain in her swollen hands.
“It was hard to see my active mother confined to a corner in the house,” said Poovakka’s son Seetharam Rai while repenting that he could help his mother who was writhing in pain. She died on March 23.
Ali Kunhi, uncle of Aishat Haseena, accused doctors of the private hospital who had said that her intellectual capabilities would improve if surgery was performed.
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“Ibrahim (brother of Aishat’s mother Alima) and Ms. Alima consented to surgery because of this assurance,” he said. When Aishat did not regain consciousness after the operation on March 19, doctors told them that the child’s condition was precarious at the time of operation. “If they had told us about the seriousness, we would not have opted for the surgery,” he said.
Ibrahim Aralapadavu said he was lucky not to undergo operation. “Somehow I was not convinced of an open heart surgery suggested as relief to back pain. I just gave an alibi to get discharged from the hospital on May 17 without going for operation.”
Mr. Ibrahim accused the hospital personnel of forcing him and other people in the hospital by holding back their BPL ration cards. Deaths of Poovakka and Aishat Haseena have brought worries to Kittanna Rai and his 70-year-old mother Kalyani, who have undergone angioplasty at the hospital. Ms. Kalyani was at the Panaje Primary Health Centre with shooting pain in her right thigh. Mr. Kittana Rai said he was told of a kidney stone for which angioplasty had been done. “We have lost confidence in the hospital’s ability to give effective follow up action,’ Mr. Rai said.