Woman dies after power cut delays C-section in Guwahati hospital

GUWAHATI: A doctor, who is in charge of the maternity ward of the newly inaugurated Lakhimpur Medical College Hospital (LMCH), has been suspended and a three-member enquiry committee has been announced after lack of electricity and fuel to power generators to conduct a Caesarean section resulted in the death of a woman and her unborn child on June 2.
The deceased, Kainamai Patgiri of Gohpur from nearby Biswanath district, was admitted to LMCH for an emergency operation. But the surgery was reportedly delayed due to the disruption in power supply. The doctor, Trinayan Mili, has been suspended with immediate effect, said health minister Keshab Mahanta.
At the direction of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Mahanta arrived at LMCH on Saturday morning after the health department drew flak from various organisations and public for the serious lapses reported. Lakhimpur MP Pradan Baruah and deputy commissioner Sumit Sattawan accompanied Mahanta along with state director of medical education, Anup Kumar Barman.
Mahanta warned the LMCH principal, superintendent and heads of all departments to ensure that such incidents are not repeated. "The health minister had discussions with the engineers and officers of the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited and public works department to ensure regular electricity supply to LMCH and keep generators fully functional all the time for emergency purposes," the health minister's office said in a statement.
A three-member team of specialist doctors of the Assam Medical College Hospital, Dibrugarh, has been entrusted with the task of probing the incident. Mahanta suggested to MP Pradan Baruah, who is also the president of the hospital management committee, to conduct a review meeting on June 8 and send a detailed report to the health department to address the loopholes.
LMCH superintendent Bobyjeet Goswami turned down repeated calls from TOI, though health department sources said mismanagement from the hospital administration resulted in the tragic incident.