Editor,
The Administration of Nazareth Hospital has issued a statement on the matter of the death of the late Mr. Sannjay Sharma. However, on a more personal note I would like to add a few thoughts:
I feel for the family, we cannot plumb the depths of feeling of loss. We ourselves hurt so much when we lose patients especially those who are healthy and die suddenly. At times like these, the stress makes us feel that we do not want to carry on.
We have followed as far as is possible always the best possible practices. However, at times there could be inadvertent errors of judgment despite our best efforts. I hope that our Institution will not be judged too hastily for something done in good faith. In all relationships, as long as all goes well, something done in good faith is praised but if things go badly wrong they are taken as malafide. I believe that in none of this was there any malafide intent.
I thank Mrs. Patricia Mukhim for her praise in her article, but that seems to project that I am the “good guy” and Dr. Henry Nongrum and all the other doctors are the “bad guys”. That is far from the truth. I have seen Dr. Henry Nongrum grow up as a young surgeon. He worked in my Department as a young doctor, got trained and now does better Head and Neck Surgery than I have ever done. However, that would be pointless if with that expertise he did not have his patients’ well being at the forefront, or if he did it for the sake of money. I would stand to ask anybody to come forward and tell me in private that they have found that he has taken money by unfair means and I will print a retraction in this paper. There is no question of taking corrective action when there has been no malpractice. Unfounded statements about taking money (among others) which are proved wrong have not been corrected.
In any care giving situation, there is a possibility of human- error and even negligence. I would put it to the readers that negligence should be found and suitable corrective action taken. However, being accused in the press is hardly a measure of guilt or innocence. I am glad that I did not send this letter earlier, as in an earlier draft, I had written that this sounds suspiciously like a lynching where somebody believes a person to be guilty and the whole mob comes out to lynch him. But on further thought I found that the maturity and restraint of the readers did not warrant such a statement and as almost all statements have come out from one source.
We understand that there are many wrong things in the system, and many methods of illegal gratification. However, killing an institution (because that is what loss of reputation means to an institution like ours) which I will say has never had as its policy to make money out of unfortunate individuals or do willful malpractice, is hardly the way to attack social evils which are rampant elsewhere.
As far as our ICU care and indeed our other departments are concerned, I would be happy if the Government would make an assessment, and compare it to all other ICUs/Departments, Government as well as private which are existing in the State. We are open to an unbiased assessment.
For somebody who is honest, any setback should force a period of introspection and ware doing that as an Institution to improve ourselves. I am on record to state that in my years of service there have been errors of many kinds, which have caused me a great deal of self doubt and soul searching. I cannot say that I am a good doctor, because that would be debatable, but I can say that I am a more caring doctor than I was thirty years ago. The care improves by learning from past mistakes.
Yours etc.,
Dr. G. Rangad , MS
Chief Medical Officer
Nazareth Hospital
Shillong
Patricia Mukhim replies: In my article of last Friday I tried to objectively assess how Dr Gordon Rangad conducted a complicated surgery at the same Nazareth Hospital where another (cosmetic) surgery conducted by a surgeon flying in from outside seemed to have been utterly mismanaged. It was not meant to praise or blame anyone as all doctors take a Hippocratic oath to save human lives, albeit few truly practice it.
Pass percentage district wise, unclear
Editor,
This is with reference to the results of the HSSLC (Arts) declared by MBOSE on May 21 2012. The pie chart depicted in the abstract seems to me a little biased. The total passed Percentage of all districts is based only out of the total passed candidates. Whereas it should have been on the total number of candidates appeared. That way it showed that the biggest share of the pie went to East Khasi hills alone thereby depicting a narrow share by other districts which in the minds of the masses could mean the poor performance of students in other districts. If we look from the point of view of the candidates that appeared from each district it sounds healthy and normal as a brief study of the table shows that Ri Bhoi district is the best performing district with 75.36 % which surpassed East Khasi hills district whose pass percentage is 67.43%.This is just an observation.
Yours etc.,.
S Nongkynrih
Asstt.Superintending Officer,
NSSO(Fod).Shillong
Langpih orphaned!
Editor,
While the NGO’s are busy agitating on issues relating to dubious voters in the state; political parties and representatives are busy campaigning for the upcoming 2013 Assembly Elections and the police are busy removing tinted films of vehicles, Langpih is being tormented by the Assam Government. Since Langpih is a rural area with less economic importance it has been repeatedly troubled by the neighbouring state, Assam. I wish the NGO’s , the MLA’s, the police and the bureaucrats concentrate more on Langpih village which originally belongs to the state of Meghalaya. They say the Congress is a party for the poor, “Congress ka haath gareeb ka sath.” So, since the Congress is enjoying a majority in Meghalaya, Assam as well as the Centre, why is the Langpih issues settled with Assam with the Centre as arbiter? If the Congress is really a party for the people then it should understand that the incident that took place in 2010 where 4 villagers were shot dead by Assam police should not be repeated. We can see that this issue is raising its ugly head again and again so before it’s too late I request the Meghalaya Government led by the Congress party to settle this dispute with the neighbouring state, Assam as soon as possible and also bring it up with the Central Government
Yours etc.,
Freddy Lyngdoh,
Via email