By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Breaking her silence over the chain of events leading to the death of her brother late Sannjay Sharma at Nazareth Hospital on May 12, Julie Das questioned the conduct of the ENT specialist of the Hospital Dr Henry B Nongrum.
Ms Das said that Dr Nongrum was a supposed to be a good friend of her brother’s and he had introduced Sannjay to Dr Rajmohan Veerabadran.
“Dr Nongrum was also instrumental in arranging that the Liposuction procedure be conducted at Nazareth Hospital. Both these doctors had visited his residence in this regard,” Julie said while speaking to reporters here on Monday. She raised the question of medical ethics and asked if it is ethical on the part of the doctors to visit the patient’s residence to lure him for the operation.
Informing that Dr Nongrum had visited Sannjay’s residence on two occasions prior to his operation, she said that during one of these visits he had taken Sannjay’s measurements for a “Pressure Suit” he was supposed to wear after the surgery.
“Surprisingly the ‘suit’ was never used during the surgery but instead a crepe bandage was used as a makeshift arrangement,” Sannjay’s elder sister claimed.
She also questioned the keen interest of Dr Nongrum in this whole case by lobbying for Dr Rajmohan to conduct this operation.
Ms Das also questioned how a surgical procedure like Liposuction was carried out in Nazareth Hospital where adequate infrastructure for post-operative care and possible complications of patients undergoing such procedures is lacking.
“This was the first ever instance of Liposuction being carried out at Nazareth Hospital,” she said. Ms Das expressed shock at Dr Rajmohan’s claim that the procedure went off well when he was not there to manage the post operative complications and is now trying to abjure all responsibility.
“My brother Sannjay was misguided by Dr Nongrum. He was made to understand that it was a minor surgery and that he would be discharged two days after the procedure was conducted. After the surgery however, Sannjay was shifted to his room where he soon started complaining of acute pain in his abdomen,” Ms Das said, adding that Sannjay was helped to the toilet by an attendant and not by Dr Rajmohan, as claimed by him.
When the family members asked the reasons for shifting Sannjay to the ICU, Dr Nongrum said that he wanted to keep Sannjay under observation, as his blood pressure was low and he had also lost a lot of fluids.
Dr Nongrum further stated that there was nothing to worry about, as there were only some ‘minor complications’ which had arisen, and they would soon be resolved, after which Sannjay would be shifted back to his room, Ms Das informed.
When Dr Nongrum was asked what special care was being given to Sannjay, he told the family members that he was only an ENT specialist, and that Liposuction was beyond his field of specialization.
“Before Sannjay went for the operation he paid Dr Nongrum Rs 50,000 as an auspicious gesture. As this payment was made for ‘friendship’s sake’, no receipts were provided,” she said.
What is surprising is that the moment Sannjay developed complications, Dr Rajmohan seemed to have washed his hands off the case entirely, Sannjay’s sister complained.
“When contacted over phone by one of Sannjay’s close friends Dr Rajmohan had told Dr Nongrum that it would be better to have the operation at Chennai, instead of at Nazareth Hospital and that he would be available only for one day,” Ms Das informed.
While referring to the bills presented to Sannjay’s relatives, she said there are several anomalies in the bills which have come to light.
“One prominent anomaly is that all bills have been categorized under clinical type ‘ENT’. Secondly, a group of bills presented to family members on the day of Sannjay’s demise were printed and paid for in the morning,” she said.
Shockingly however, the computerized time stamp on each bill is after 8 pm – almost two hours after Sannjay was pronounced dead by the CMO.
“Are we to assume that the Hospital had already predetermined the time of death,” Julie said.
She said what is shocking is that the case summary handed over to Sannjay’s family is signed by none other than Dr Nongrum who is not an expert in Liposuction surgery.
Despite all these anomalies, Julie said, “The family members have unanimously decided not to file an FIR in this case. We only want to caution the general public against being similarly misled,”
Meanwhile, Members of the Shillong Press Club on Monday mourned the untimely demise of Sannjay Sharma who was associated with The Shillong Times, The Sentinel and GL Publications.
In a condolence meeting held at the club premises on Monday morning, members reminisced Sharma’s contribution to the field while describing him as a talented and prolific writer who set a benchmark worth emulating. Others expressed shock at his sudden demise which they felt was ‘untimely and uncalled for’.
The meeting chaired by SPC president David Laitphlang expressed profound grief at Sharma’s sudden departure while extending deepest sympathies to the bereaved family members of Sannjay Sharma and praying that his soul rests in everlasting peace.