 Early Times Report
Jammu, May 20: A doctor in Kishtwar district hospital forgot a medical sponge inside a 48-year-old woman's body which led to her death, sparking protests from her relatives.
The relatives of the deceased woman identified as Shakeela Begum, wife of Mohammad Iqbal Butt, of Sangrabata, Kishtwar, held a strong protest demanding action against the erring doctor.
Speaking to Early Times, Iqbal said his wife was operated upon for gallbladder stones a couple of months ago. He said the doctor forgot to remove a surgical sponge from her body that led to septicaemia.
Septicaemia, also known as sepsis, is a complication that can happen when bacteria from a foreign body enter the blood and spread throughout the body. It needs urgent medical attention as it can quickly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. In India, more than 90,000 lives are being claimed by sepsis every year, according to various reports.
Iqbal said that after his wife was discharged from the hospital, a few weeks later she developed pain. She was shifted to Government Medical Hospital Jammu. During a CT scan, a surgical sponge was found inside her body.
Iqbal said the doctors at Jammu hospital refused to treat her and advised him to take his wife back to Kishtwar and get the operation done from the same doctor who had left the sponge inside her abdomen.
"The doctors at Medical College Jammu told me that they cannot take the responsibility. We later shifted her to Kishtwar where the doctor in question again operated on her," said Iqbal.
He said that though Dr. Guru Dev Singh, who had earlier operated upon her, again operated and removed the sponge, due to heavy infection she was referred to SKIMS Srinagar, where after spending nearly one and half month she died late Saturday evening. Her dead body was shifted to Kishtwar where the agitated family members protested outside the Kishtwar police station along with the dead body.
The protesting family was demanding action against the doctor responsible for the negligence that led to the woman's death. They said it was criminal negligence on part of the doctor and demanded his immediate arrest. According to the CT scan report of the dead woman, a copy of which has been accessed by Early Times, there was a surgical sponge left inside her body.
Meanwhile, the Medical Superintendent of the Kishtwar hospital said, "We are going to conduct an enquiry and action will be taken accordingly."
"We will also order a departmental inquiry into the matter and disciplinary action as warranted will be initiated against the doctor under law," said Dr. Sham Lal, the Medical Superintendent.
Meanwhile, after the intervention of the elders and imam of Jamia Masjid Kishtwar, the people lift the blockade outside police station Kishtwar after nearly three hours.
Later, the police took the custody of the dead body and handed over the same to family members after autopsy which was done on the direction of Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar by the board of doctors in presence of senior revenue officers including Tehsildar Kishtwar Shokat Hayat Mattoo. |
