SHILLONG, July 24: Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh on Monday said she has sought a report from NEIGRIHMS Director Nalin Mehta over the allegation that a youth injured in a road accident succumbed to his injuries due to alleged negligence at the hospital on Sunday.
On its part, NEIGRIHMS has launched an internal probe into the incident.
Dr Mehta, who is out of town, told The Shillong Times over the phone that he was informed that the patient was attended to immediately.
“Apart from fracture of the femur (the thigh bone) of both legs, the patient had internal bleeding in the chest as was found on extended ultrasound. Unfortunately despite all efforts of the attending doctors, he could not be saved,” Dr Mehta said.
A senior doctor of the institute said the hospital is probing into the actual cause of chaos and the death of the accident victim.
The doctor said thigh bones are the strongest bones but the nature of the injury was such that his thighs were fully broken and there was huge loss of blood.
Saddened by the vandalism which took place in the institute, the doctor said the patient was brought to the hospital from Umiam at 12:30 pm and there were around 10 doctors that time.
“We did everything swiftly and there was blood collection in chest and lot of trauma,” the doctor said while adding that a lot of time was lost in bringing the patient from Umiam.
According to the doctor, at around 2 pm, his BP went down and his pulse was not recordable and by around 2.30 pm he was on ventilator and even CPR was given to him and after trying everything, he was declared dead at 3.15 pm.
Earlier, Lyngdoh emphasised the need for a thorough investigation into the case. She said she was informed on the day of the incident that junior doctors as well as medical officers were on duty.
“In order to understand the situation completely, I have requested the director of NEIGRIHMS to share with me the reasons behind the incident,” she said.
Stating that she will await a response, Lyngdoh said the preliminary report suggested that doctors were present to attend to the patient.
She said NEIGRIHMS is a central organisation but the state government can act as the caretaker since it functions in the state. She said as such, the state government can seek the reasons behind any incident at this hospital. She said she was disturbed by the death of the young person.
Chaotic scenes were witnessed in the emergency wing of the NEIGRIHMS on Sunday after the youth’s death. His family and friends alleged he died due to medical negligence. They had a heated exchange of words with the hospital’s security staff.
Soon, the police were called in and they brought the situation under control.
The relatives claimed the youth, who had sustained injuries in his legs in a road mishap near Umiam, was kept at the emergency ward but denied any medical treatment for four hours after which he succumbed to his injuries.
However, the hospital authorities denied any negligence. They said the institute tried its best but could not save the youth’s life.
VPP legislator Adelbert Nongrum has slammed NEIGRIHMS for failing carry out its duties despite being ‘an institute of excellence’.
In a statement on Monday, Nongrum said the reputation of NEIGRIHMS is going down since this is not the first time such lapses have been reported.
He demanded action against the on-duty doctors and staff for negligence.
The VPP legislator also asked the state government to launch a probe since a precious life was lost owing to alleged negligence.
“We need to fix responsibilities to ensure that such unfortunate incidents are not repeated in the future,” he added.
