Patients protest medical negligence

BALASORE: Expectant mothers admitted to the FM Medical College and Hospital (MCH) here for delivery and their attendants staged a dharna in front of the SNCU ward protesting negligence of the doctors and nurses. The protest arose after Jayanti Dehuri, a pregnant woman from Bhograi, was left unattended despite being advised by gynaecologist Gyanaranjan Behera to undergo fast as the surgery was scheduled at 8 pm on Wednesday. Jayanti followed the instructions but the doctor did not arrive for the surgery.

Behera had allegedly advised three more pregnant women to fast and they had been doing so for over 12 hours but he did not turn up nor other doctors of staff. When the patients’ attendants confronted the nurses on duty, the latter did not respond. They did not even bother to call a doctor to examine the patients. What’s worse is that the emergency doctor too was absent on the day and the security guards even misbehaved with the women, said Subha Bharati Samal, an attendant of a patient.

Sources said 10 gynaecologists including professors and assistant professions have been appointed at the medical college. However, most of them spend time at their clinics. CDMO Dulalsen Jagatdeo admitted no doctor had come to examine the patients and said the agitators withdrew their stir after being assured of appropriate action. MCH superintendent Banerjee Prasad Chhotray said the agitators were asked to file a written complaint following which a probe into the matter will be conducted.