Pregnant woman dies after govt hospital gives false HIV+ report, shames family

Mangalore Today News Network

Himachal Pradesh, Sep 09, 2019 : In a shocking case of medical negligence, a 22-year-old married woman died due to medical negligence and was mistreated at a Shimla-based top government hospital in Himachal Pradesh as to Yahoo.

 

 

The deceased Ankita hailed from Maktot village in remote Chirgaon area located around 140 km from the state capital Shimla. When she got pregnant she went to Sanjeevani Hospital in Rohru for treatment.

The hospital staff conducted a blood test in the in-house laboratory of the hospital on August 21. Citing the test report, the staff told her family members that she was HIV positive.

They also said Ankita’s uterus tube was bleeding and she required a laparotomy surgery. The hospital referred the patient to Kamla Nehru Hospital, a Shimla-based state government hospital.

The blood report, which was later found to be inaccurate, was used by the Kamla Nehru Hospital staff to shame and terrorise the patient, the family claimed. The nurses would come and ask the victim how she contracted HIV, they said.

"She was continuously crying after the shocking treatment meted out to her by the hospital staff and the mental torture by the nurses. We were discriminated and were treated as if we were criminals," victim’s father Miyan Ram said.

The unprofessional attitude of the Kamla Nehru Hospital staff was not limited to discrimination. On August 22, one of the woman doctors called the victim’s husband Harish after she underwent the surgery and told him in front of his wife that she was HIV positive.

Ankita, who was stable after the surgery but was not aware of her actual blood report till then, was baffled at the news. She complained of having a problem breathing and later slipped into a coma.

Ankita’s husband recalled how the nurses publicly harassed and ill-treated them. Despite getting the blood tests redone, the staff trusted the false report. There was no counselling but only shaming and ill-treatment.

"I was in the hospital sitting with my wife. The nurses came and publicly told me that she was HIV positive and I will have to get to a blood test as well. They asked unwanted and indecent questions. Surprisingly, there was no counselling and the human touch was missing. Is this the way the hospital staff should treat patients?" Harish asked.

Ankita was put on ventilator and later referred to Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital (IGMCH). Interestingly, a blood test conducted on August 23 found that both Ankita and her husband Harish were HIV negative. However, it was too late as Ankita was in a coma.

She died at IGMCH on August 27 after she slipped into a coma. The doctors said she died of effusion but the family blamed the doctors and the false medical report.

Ankita’s brother Dev Raj said a false medical report and indifferent attitude of the government hospital staff killed his sister. Had the doctors not trusted a false report and maintained confidentiality, she may have survived.

"The doctors and hospital staff after knowing she was reported HIV positive started treating her and other family members differently. We were told to wear gloves. Even the sweepers would shout at us. The attitude of the hospital staff was inhumane and step-motherly. The government should remove these nurses and doctors from service as they do not know how to treat a patient," Ankita’s brother, who accompanied her till she breathed her last in Shimla, said.

Meanwhile, the state government has ordered a probe into the incident that led to the patient’s death. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has assured the family that strict action will be taken against the staff and the lab after the probe is over.

"The cause of death is unclear. We have ordered a probe and will take strict action against the guilty," Jai Ram Thakur said.

The family of deceased said they will file a criminal case against Kamla Nehru Hospital staff and the private laboratory which gave the false report.

"We are not sure what will be the outcome of the government probe. They will try to save the doctors and the staff. We have initiated criminal proceedings against the hospital and the lab," Dev Raj said.

The owner of the lab, which provided the false report, later issued a statement saying he has nothing to say as a probe is already underway.

"I have nothing to say as a probe by the higher authority i.e. Director Health Services is already on. We have submitted our version. We have been suppressed by the media and our name has been used without obtaining our consent," Chinmay Dev Barma, owner Sanjeevani Hospital, said.