(Representational image)Doctors at Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital in Kalwa left a cotton bandage and some cotton pads inside the private parts of a 20-year-old woman after she delivered a baby on May 4. Eight days after the delivery, the woman visited the hospital again complaining about pain and discomfort, but she was sent back. After over 20 days, when she was admitted at a private hospital, it was discovered that she had been infected by the cotton pads, her family claimed.
The matter was taken up by some local MNS leaders, who said the doctor responsible for the incident has not been found yet.
On May 4, Nisha Rajbhar, a resident of Thane, was taken to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Hospital in Kalwa while she was in pre-mature labour. “She had a normal delivery, but as she was bleeding profusely, the doctors put cotton pads and bandage around her genitals. However, the doctors forgot to take them out and stitched over the cotton pads,” said Samiksha Markande, a local MNS leader close to the Rajbhar family. Nisha’s husband, Suraj, said, “My wife had gone to the hospital a week after the delivery, complaining about uneasiness and pain. But she was turned away by the doctors who claimed that her condition was common among post-natal mothers.”
Nisha, a first-time mother, had been bearing the pain until May 23, when she asked her mother to check what was wrong, her husband claimed. “Her mother found some cotton strands sticking out of her private parts… We then took her to a private hospital,” Suraj said. He added, “She has suffered a serious infection as the pads were left inside her for over a fortnight. She had to be operated again, to take out the cotton pads and bandage.”
Markande, who wrote a letter to Sandhya Khadse, the dean of the hospital, said, “We have requested strict action against the concerned doctors. They should be suspended, and if they were students, then their degrees need to be cancelled.” While Thane Municipal Corporation’s health officers said they would look into the matter, the dean did not respond to queries. “We will ensure that an internal committee is set-up to look into the matter,” said a senior TMC official. Markande said, “We have been assured that we will have an answer within 10 days. If they don’t respond, we will go to the police.”
