MEDICAL NEGLIJENCE

Item

Title
MEDICAL NEGLIJENCE
extracted text
COMMUMir/

r Tt

M-H 4^

^^b(rirst bloc;),,.

4
A FIE ID STUDY nW IMPACT OF RSCUCTION IN CHITD MORTALITY ON
FERTILITY IN RURAL POPULATION IN INDIA.

INTEODUCTIQN

India* s pioneering initiative in taking up the challenge of
population control on a nations! level attracted worl^-wi^e. attention e

The speed of expansion of this programme throughout the country,bps

beer phenomenal.

The country^ s determination to go all out to.ma^e

this programme a success, is reflected in the allocation of funis in

the successive 5 year plans

which rose sharply from 0.7 crores in

1st plan to 2 crores in the 2nd 9 27 crores in the 3rd and finally
315 crores in the current five year plan.

The 4th five year plan

outline has referred, to family planning as the king-pin of the pl an
and the limitation of family size as ar inescapable ingredient of
development.

However, judging from the results achieved so far 5 it is

doubted Aether this national programme conceived as 1 time bound and
target oriented1 , has really- gained the desired momentum.

Recent experience suggests two possible major reasons for the

rather slow progress of the

family planning programme.

Firstly, not enough attention seems to h ave been given to make
family planning activities ar irtegral part of the health services off-

ered to the public.

Secondly, the likelihood of the current high level of infant
and child mortality in India acting as a deterrent to> the-willing

adeption and practise of family planning methods by the public has rot

been duly appreciated.
It has been observed that the- norm prevalent in the society

with regard to family size, is an important determination.

5
of its fertility performance anr’ is rleci^e^ by the number of

children considered optimum to maximise the ability of family

to achieve its desired goals.

Several attitude surveys in

India have shown that a large jajorty of women prefer to have
a family size ranging from 3 to 4 children Pereas actual

fertility performance is relatively of ahi^ner order.

IT is

obvious disparity between th e preference and the performance is
consistent with a small, family norm in the context of the

prevalent hi$i mortality rate in Irdia? particularly among infants

and children of pre-school age.

Th^ mortality figures indicate

that more than a third (34*) of all deaths in any year in Irdla
are from children under 5 years of age as compared with only

105 in the economically developed countries.

The fear of the

likely loss of children by death at an early age probably acts
as a major factor in the high fertil ity performance of the Indian

p opulation.

In addition, attention needs to be paid to the optimum
utilisation of the limited resources available through better

planning, management and evaluation.
The present research proposal endeavours to take sags
cognisance of all ^he above factors.

More specifically it is

designed to test the fo** lowing hypotheses:
HYpeTrT-SS^S?

1.

Provision of increased quantum of health care for the

community and integrating family planning activities closely with
it,

is likely to result in increased acceptance of small family

norm and resultant reduction in birth rate.

lp-1
I MEDICINE

Hard cures
The impression that modern medicine is impersonal and driven by money needs to be dispelled by
better patient-doctor relationship and administration of justice in cases of medical negligence.
chemotherapy, antibiotics, steroids all
compromise the immune system even as
A FTER coming through a long mal- they prodiluce other desired effects.
1X. practice suit, a physician friend of
P
Progress
has a price, and it is often
mine said to me, “Now I think of the infection. A century ago, to have E. coliior
patient as the enemy.”
one of the other bacteria we carry in our
These are troubled times. We have bowels cause bloodstream infection was
seen doctors striking to protest soaring in­ almost unheard of, worthy of a case report
surance premiums. In some States like in The New England Journal of MedFlorida and West Virginia, neurosurgeons icine. Now bloodstream infection by th<icse
and others in high-risk, high-liability spe­ bacteria is a major cause of the estimated
cialties are closing shop or retiring early. 100,000 deaths a year from sepsis. It is not
Insurance companies blame rising claims so much that these bacteria have changed
and bigger jury awards for their rate hikes, (they have); instead, this increase reflects 5
Personal-injury lawyers deny their respon- the
the present
present invasive
invasive nature
nature of hospital
sibility and insist that the insurance com- medicine.
of
medicine. But
But sepsis
sepsis as
as aa consequence
c
panics have invested poorly. Organised heroic treatment does not constitute negmedicine and United States President Ge- ligence.
orge Bush push for tort reform, including
To prove malpractice, you need more
a cap on awards. And while the powerful than a bad outcome; there has to be signif­
lobbies jockey to preserve their interests, icant deviation from the usual standard of
patients suffer.
care. Still, I suspect the great majority of
Medicine is, in a sense, a victim of its malpractice suits are for bad outcomes.
own success. Transplants of the heart, Take a woman who has had no prenatal
lungs and liver seem so routine that we are care and who turns up in a hospital in
surprised when they do not succeed. A premature labour. An obstetrician and a
foetus can be operated on in the womb, neonatologist get involved and deliver the
and extremely premature babies regularly best care, but the baby is born damaged. A
survive, and so we now view any birth- personal-injury lawyer (who learns about
related injury as somebody’s fault. The the case through paid touts in the hospi­
hype engendered by stem cells and the tal) encourages the mother to sue. The
human genome has only boosted our ex­ lawyer knows that bringing the affected
aggerations. We presume a cure. A bad out- child into the courtroom will have a pow­
^pme is a betrayal; it is un-American. erful effect on the jury, which will be per­
Hence, when a debilitated 90-year-old en­ suaded to believe this is negligence, not
ters a nursing home with giant bedsores just a bad outcome. Insurance companies
and succumbs to pneumonia six months settle rather than take a chance with a jury.
later, the family uses the bedsores as evi­
We physicians grumble about person­
dence of malpractice.
al-injury lawyers who call out from the
There was a time when every large city backs of ph<tone books and from atop billhospital had wards for diphtheria and boards.
1
But the truth is that these lawyers
scarlet fever. Doctoring in that pre-anti- all1 too easily can shop around and find
biotic era was mostly about observation physicians to serve as expert witnesses,
and hope (that the body would win the physicians
J J dcians who can (for a fee) testify that a
battle). That passive medicine has given bad outcome is, in fact, negligence. A jury
way to aggressive, interventionist care, re­ trial then becomes a war of experts. Given
flected in our modern intensive care units, the possible intricacies of a case, jurors
newborn nurseries and transplant units. may not grasp the issues when they go
Organ bouquets are harvested here and into deliberations. But they do remember
planted there. Tubes routinely pierce what they do not like about modern med­
bladder, vein, artery, heart, trachea or ven- icine and the way it is impersonal and
tricle of the brain; each tube serves a vital driven by money. They do remember the
function, but at the same time breaches last time they were wronged by an insurone of our physical defences. Meanwhile, ance company or a health maintenance

ABRAHAM VERGHESE

FRONTLINE, APRIL 11, 2003

organisation (H.M.O.) or treated shabbily
in a doctor’s office. Here is an oppo ‘tunity
to get even, perhaps. The doctor becomes
the enemy.
Solutions are desperately needed. I
think we could start by sending all mal­
practice suits to regional panels of judges,
physici;
/sicians and consumer advocates to
screen and eliminate those with no merit.
And organised medicine could rein in the
professional-physician expert witness:
much like jurors, specialty physicians
might serve as expert witnesses wh£n their
turn
turn comes
comes up
up tor
foraa nominal
nominal tee.
fee. Lawyers
la^
would not be able to shop around
around for
E an
expert witness with just the right testimo­
ny. (A disclaimer: In 20 years, I have
served as an expert witness four times.)
And when we are patients, we could insist
on being equal partners in our care. We
might bring along family and friends
when we interact with doctors and[ see that
all our questions are answered knd our
expectations are realistic. Medicine is fan­
tastic in what it can accomplish, But there
are real and clear risks.
A wise former judge once told me,
“Patients who like their doctors do not
sue, no matter what the lawyer sapvs.” Our
efforts in medical schools to tnkirn out
skilled yet empathetic physiciiins who
communicate clearly and who can put
themselves in their patients’ shoes is crit­
ical to stemming the malpracti ce crisis.
Patients sue when their feelings are ignored or when they are angered by lack of
genuine concern for their welfare If psy­
chiatrists, family physicians and oncologists are sued less often than surgeons and
obstetricians, it might be in pai because
the former have more time to build a meaningful relationship with the patient,
whereas the latter often encounter the patient for the first time in an ennergency.
Though it provides no guarantee a sound
physician-patient relationship is a power­
ful antidote to frivolous lawsuits. I

Abraham Verghese, M.D., is director ofthe
Centre for Medical Humanities and Ethics,
University of Texas Health Science Centr e, Saitn
Antonio. His most recent book is The Tennis
Partner.

New York Times Service
113

OBITUARY

A man of compassion
Iqbal Ghani Khan, 1953-2003.
PARVATHI MENON
TQBAL GHANI KHAN, Reader in
JL History at the Centre for Advanced
Study in History of the Aligarh Muslim
University (AMU), a historian of both at­
tainment and promise, trade union activ­
ist, and a person well loved in Aligarh for
his humanity and compassion, was brutal­
ly killed by unknown assailants on Febru­
ary 14. He had just dropped his wife, Dr.
Zulfia Khan, chairperson of the Depart­
ment of Community Medicine, at the J.N.
Medical College Hospital in the morning
on his way to the History Department for
a class, when he was reportedly accosted by
three persons and abducted in his car. The
assailants took him to an isolated spot near
the village of Akrabad,15 kms from Ali­
garh where, after hitting him with a blunt
weapon, shot him twice in the head. His
body was found by the village residents,
The police have not found any clues leading to the murderers; even his car has not
been traced.
His brutal killing has caused deep
shock and anger in Aligarh, both within
the university community and in the city
at large. All segments of this communally
sensitive town came together in a massive
display of indignation and grief at his
death. The cycle rickshawpullers whom he
had organised in a strong union, called for
a massive strike in the city on February 17,
and took out a large procession to the District Magistrate protesting against the delay
in tracing the murderers. On February 18
there was a total strike in the AMU. Over
500 teachers of the University marched to
die office of the District Magistrate and
when they failed to find him there,
marched over a mile to block traffic on the
Grand Trunk Road in the middle of the
Cl:ity. The District Magistrate assured them
of results in the investigation in 36 hours.
When this did not happen, the AMU
Teaching StaffAssociation went on a strike
suspended
from February 24. It was only
(
(in the interests of the student community)
ffter the Uttar Pradesh government agreed
to their demand for a time-bound inquiry
by the Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI). This demand had been supported
in resolutions of condolence and protest by
more than 65 organisations in the town. A
114

history. LG. Khan was also an active mem­
ber of the U.P. History Congress; he was
on its Executive Committee when he died.
There was an outpouring of grief in
Aligarh at his untimely death. Thousands
of persons - teachers, students, friends,
workers - joined his funeral procession.
LG. Khan had the ability to establish im­
mediate rapport with all kinds of people,
and charmed everyone he met. Long since
a member of the Communist Party of In­
dia (Marxist), he had a deep sense of com­
passion for any individual in trouble. He
was a popular leader of the cycle rickshaw­
pullers in Aligarh whom he unionised and
whose interests he did his utmost to pro­
tect. There are 30,000 cycle rickshawpull­
ers in Aligarh, and he knew hundreds of
them by name. He had created a trust for
team of five MPs visited Aligarh. A pet- poor patients, and was always ready to help
ition signed by over 40 MPs had been them financially.
“Having LG. Khan as a colleague in
submitted to Deputy Prime Minister L.K.
Advani asking him that the case be handed the cause of the Left, and as a friend, was a
continuous pleasure,” Irfan Habib, former
over to the CBI.
chairman of the Department of History
T .G. KHAN was born in 1953, and told Frontline. “Unlike many of us who
JL passed his M.A. in History from the think of classes in the aggregate, he saw the
AMU in 1974. Thereafter, he spent several individuals who make up the toiling and
months in Iran, where he obtained consid- exploited classes and addressed their needs.
erable fluency in Persian. He obtained his In that sense he was a different sort of trade
doctorate from the London School of Ori- unionist, a person imbued with a deep
sense of compassion,” he said. Nalini Taental and African Studies under Dr. Peter
neja, Reader in History at Delhi Universi­
Robb in 1990. He was awarded a Fulbright Postdoctoral Scholarship at North ty, and a former colleague, spoke of hk
Carolina University, U.S., 1993-94, and a ability to reach out to people. “There
French government Visiting Scholarship at many people whose lives he would have
touched with small spontaneous gestures
the Centre for Comparative History of the
and who would now remember his good­
Orient, Paris, 1992-93. Last year he attended the International Persianate Con- ness with fondness and gratitude,” she said.
In a condolence message, the Aligarh
ference at Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 2002.
LG. Khan’s special field of research Historians Society, of which LG. Khan
was a founder member, made particular
and interest was the history of medieval
Indian science and technology. His M.Phil mention of his active role in opposing all
and Doctoral thesis explored important hues of communalism, being particularly
of resistance against
themes from this field (‘Science in the active in the campaign
x
A’in-i Akbari’ and ‘Agriculture, Warfare the recent attempts at the saffronisation of
History”.
and Knowledge of 18th century Elites),
The brutal act, they said, “has left the
While these still remain unpublished, he
published some 16 tpapers in edited vol­ community
. of Indian historians decidedly
umes
from Delhi,
poorer.For our Society, the loss is irrepipara­
umes which
which were
were published
I..................
" ■
Cambridge and Leiden. Many of his pa- Lble. But we are determined to carry on the
cause to
to which our late colleague was so
pers were published in the Proceedings of cause
the Indian History Congress. In these pa­ single-mindedly devoted”.
LG. Khan leaves behind his wife, Dr.
pers he extended his inquiries to pre-colonial historiography and ethnographic Zulfia Khan, a daughter and son. ■
FRONTLINE, APRIL 11, 2003

ban.g.algre

Friday . September 5, 2003

3

■Baby’s;'deatli tip of the- IccbcF^
-AiU'DiLg :Sa^eena..'.iio.w'i?i
.'.another-hospfta!
o' "

..a board of visitors \ibr each C - ■1 iMES. News
.. Network
mAZZr °......
thd,b'?^8«a<?re:.. Sameena ■ Taj
herself and losing it after it fell off- elsewhere. Sufferin'’ with'- l-iboi-r ' '■
ina^nUiy.‘1-o:r‘es-' .. ■ i(23).whose baby
the labour table in a BCC maternity ' Pains; she boarded
in?':
slipped off the
. home on Wednesday shocked all: But' /forced to deliver her child "nroufo ’ ■ tfoAnd ,“Seiri0W!1' PPYate praci;
"labour table' affor those familiar with the condition '; Parveen, -a 30-vear old woman -'nd PiAnrd "
^sp^d since/’ •ter. she - deliv- ’
Pi such homes, it was ‘nothing new’ - a mother of fnnr'r'mS
n ‘P' ' :the.formei- ofncial pon.ted-but.
ered- the baby
on Thursday, The Timesof India for aKt^ fo
1,1' > 'ASset ofRs05 croreis allolS '
| herself. when
visited somefof . the‘;30 maternity ernmentpASsaniAAGA
in^mg/recruito
- the' • .hospital
homes in the city and retimhed with 175 The staff'ettendinf' P b'p¥>,
. fo<?nt 01 a eynaecologist, a pacdiatri"'" ‘were
■ ybagfur of horror stories. AU mt etedAloA "
ndafiunilyplanmng.counsel-i 'Puigmrtne.BCC-run
matnap.•run.mater' ,„ln^,y 10mas seemed alike, with the
The ‘open secret' across?u'mit"r ■
'17 - ambn-i'mtyhomemt Aj.'Nagar
hospital staff
thedr pockets hitv
n AhcZsT
tZ emo-• j
A
ita»f warming theirnockets
homes is. tm.
'Ar T
ldPp“’P.u.t sti!!
still neflcieiit.bn service?’ : Wednesday, has been shif
by _fleecing-; gullible women; The' 500 if a babv bov isdXeA'Z’Z.? AZZw fals vlsited;
. stroiigiy-woi-ded 'letter:health' de- -300 for a baby girl. :v
Aon^at aU- <nity/honie on Sirs! Road.
bS HV6111 Sent it0 the ’ BCC”thfee
AGriner BCC h-alth bfFc’-tf• i !
to having condnet-;-The ypostmortem report as
i
“Pre^-ibmgl:nnecessarAmA^'AZerald™V'!r)cs":ithourthed^Ad7”i?n^

r
II

1

. .la^°^l afier evening hours. The ex- which fetch them commission ’’ '
;
steps to bet- • ing conducted,. while' BCC
. .cuse. absence of doctors and nurses.
Under the India Population Pro’ '
sonic, I admit are'bad. •-.chief health officer Dr '
. .: Last . \yeek, -Girija, a.-'22-year-old iect (IPpt a supervisi’-^ oomSusheela Shekar has placed
who rushed to a maternity home in; comprising sixUaldi ScZZZ ’
ZA
Under

5
l
3^

-T
V;

Woman delivers as
hospital staff sleep;
baby slips and dies
Times News Network

Bangalore: A 23-year-old pregnant woman,
admitted to the Corporation Maternity Home
in J.J. Nagar, was forced to
deliver the baby by herself
’
at 4 am on Wednesday, for L
the staff was napping.
' E
But her happiness at
having delivered a baby
was shortlived as the newborn, just a few seconds
old, slipped off 'the delivery
table and died, even as the
Sameena
mother cried desperately
for the hospital staff. Sameena Taj, wife of
Ilyas Khan; an auto driver, was admitted to
the hospital at 3.30 pm on Tuesday after she
developed labour pains. She was taken into
tna labour ward by two nurses on duty. A lit­
tle later, when she was in labour, the nurses
gave her some injections to control the pain.
At 4 am on Wednesday, when Sameena de­
veloped pains again, she did not find any­
body in the vicinity to help her, not even the
nurses on night duty.
Despite these constraints, Sameena deliv• ered a healthy baby girl herself, with no med' ical help. As there was no assistant on the
; other side to receive the infant’s head, she
' slipped from the labour table. The impact of
the fall was such that it left a dent on the in­
fant’s head.
The hospital staff, which rushed to the paI tient later, picked up the baby, held her by her
legs and shook her but she had died. On
Wednesday evening, activists of Vimochana
protested outside the maternity home. The
postmortem report on the infant, as demand­
ed by Vimochana, will be out on Thursday.
Her relatives too staged a protest.
“Such careless institutions should be out­
lawed. They should be made accountable to
the people they serve,” said Vimochana
trustee Donna Fernandes. BCC chief health
officer Dr Susheela Shekar has placed hospi­
tal staffers Puttabasamma and Padmavathi
under suspension.

Pregnant woman left
iii the Stirchy loses baby
E

By Our Staff Reporter
pain increased, but the nurses onstration in front of the
u.
Were unmoved- Finally . the hospital demanding an inquiry.
BANGALORE,
if n ’ SEPT. 3. rIn what
,h apap’ nUrSes went t0 attend t0 her They were later joined by local
S^eMTai^noS^h’h6’ )vhen,the baby was emerging people. DonnaFernandes^^ofVibameena I aj (22) lost her baby from the womb but they did not mochana said the Superintend­
as she was not provided ade- hold the child, her relatives al- ent of the hospital refused to
quate care and had to endure leged.
take responsibility for the inci­
severe discomfort and anxiety
As a result, the baby fell. Ms. dent.
during childbirth at a BMP Hos- Farida alleged that die nurses _ Sushila Shekhar, Chief Health
PItRdTtive? of
T
i iSh°Ok tIle
by ho,diri8 i[S Officer, 'B^ng’aTorc Mahanagjara
”
Relatives of Ms. Taj, includ- legs and said that it had died "
’•’ (BMP),
—- •told
’
Palike
Tiie—Hindu
mg her aunt, Farida, said Ms. inside thdwomb.
that it was a stillborn baby and
Taj’ started having labour pains
Earlier, even when they want­ that the department officials
on Tuesday midnight but die ed to take Ms. Taj to another had conducted a preliminary
staff nurses at the BMP hospital hospital, the staff refused to dis- enquiry into the incident. Two
refused to attend to her. The charge her.
staff nurses, who were on duty
nurses reportedly were angry
Ms.
Ms. Sameena
Sameena hails
hails from on Tuesday night, were susthat they had been disturbed Cmntamarii in Kolar District pended and an inquiry would
from their sleep and told the and is married to an autorickmioti-Trab Ant w m .
, , ~an autOnYk- be conducted, she said.
vesJbatMs.Taj wculdnol shaw driver there.
A. police complaint was filed
give birth to the baby before
She had come- to
the city for by
Ms. Taj
’s family.
— — —j —
-’}
xuj o icunny. Action
t).3u a.m.
deliverv On lA7f‘dnncda'' Vimn
_____ j
delivery. On Wednesday, Vimo- i.rrM.iz)
would be taken ibased
on postAround 3.30 a.m. Ms. Taj’s ch ana, an NGO, staged’’a dem
.
w
i- mortem report, she. added. .
bangalorf ifpt

/3o^

raaosod a©n!,
, .

I

dorftdadD,

3.

Zj I7r, I,. «X

3-

• doristodb dorodrtd ro&S
: doK e^dpi) rododd aor

g^dod erirod dotfodsd 3d

rod
crocbra'

Mob

otfrtd dcd d^ddt^
dddodshd.

ds ^-'aedfSai)^ a3oa^j
d&rid adj2?d?3D)
Ajosp’sScS: uDodsddrdo d.^>
133 3dX)dd^
ej3, co&3.3j»ed^od dd

. dridd ;rjdo?n6- dd^d cdZo^
dd dridd 93e d^d). dd

doodaod
todo d^dd
t^do • c^ocxd)
drodd
dxwrond.
rodafcd -ds ^or^dodd^
ddjscd^ u e^d, dxod .
doZova ’

e d^dedd d^oddo d.^d
133 wd&ddo.

rod edjsddo: ' i^drd.
d£)
. djaeod
AjododdtSj rododd^ tsdssd

cdOcdd

dDoosdrid

s^Ou

adOdcDnd ■ rod? : ro©o
dx'3£>rt<& dv^d.

dort
^)Fj

TOSDeJDAddD.
roo,
12 'bod
rtod
osa.

33i ro^. dort djsed)
Abd^rdO |
ssr^ujsod

ddx&dS ■ ■. ddoe^rt ■ dort - rod dd?1
3^cd)
"
earfAjGjsod: ■ • rtoddo," “ ■

Sdorodddja
d?ertd
rodc&d? deb ddOo rod?
'
>

ddjscdro

.30^3 rocdrudrdd d:3b

• toed: dD'

djsddd ts £>3? rod??3d<£)o
ds
roroh
ds
Soq^dod

rforofid.
.
&ad<3e
roort ddodod
&ad(de roort
c doZotfrt ds d?d5 coOrt • rododd^ bdradadOdro
oisad
gpd<§ode
d?rt? nd.

s^dcs^.
sdrt
ddo ajs^j
• Au.
—•“ o^^los
&Qe^oi)g 5)a,X)dcb..

| >'t>orfctecb,, ^. 3- tsrteedd
j uDctz ^dd "d^o5, iort
[jCdSg *iyo0
^Gcd
Ij sid^roe,
. edssd s^d

ofoDE&rt) ^f\ z3<± d^ddyd.
C'd sksf.
ecs4, E^d^ddd^cl^o5'^??

£:
r >■>' <

d.zL drid ^Scdori d^cb
^c^cjbd.
o

e?dd dodsfe d^oe^, dori
djae^ ^odo diozfcteiad
ed3.fi
Ck><sDet)Adcb.
2ddfi^
cJ ->
. Q
zxd dofi dod^d zoddd)
c3o zb d^ck ed^ccbdwcb.
.’ • edd, ede cse, eufi dofi
djse^) enjori^/d^F ddi’'
ed^cfi.0 dssdra djsa, dddc>

e±>^

< dd3, sSetfri
E&rb
w^3b. e e5f^ sfco^d
' sSifOod
Kcfc s±rt
djsde^Ad.

^■;.-

- k jM

■

8

/ J ''-^W
<-L v'?
Yv' ' '

sbrb

cb^roA^r^^cgd. edd
‘ E±>rb »c5^^ '■ AjodzprdO
d^dtscb^cb 33^239 Ad.
. kocb detf mQA ^d^hdcbs
. ^dd6faddo.
Eu,^fc3c3: ^tjo& aobd
^E±>. |7kJ^«fcdod toSSOfoA)
e±&>9d . a>o^’13'3o±> . ^ccbr

^rcb

dort edd, £d>cb

dyBzp&d dd&dcb.

333Os

,
i
j
i
I

i
i

M|q|oS
■ iSortsi^d),
3: nsOcxbd
f6od ddtsad
aj3c3
i)od) e&r3e&& 'sock
«dz5eddroodr»dcS ssaOS cJ—' £cbd>
.
ElteTOCb
SjjOZiteS dcs*jrfcb. '
ft •
£?3 EoOrtfiocb ro^OusAd aj£occjd e^cb d^c^ocbO^ o30ri
?I/ae£)Sod $d>fc3&Qoz3dQ croaobcb erto^Oe. e? Tjoc^rdO,
sjc^d s±>7t) doozuGoid ^f\ zocb s^dEj^cS aocb Ed,a^i3cro^)dcb
edoe^rfd).
csaaatdi Eozss s&c&doS e?^2o^ FliEOod) zsd
cocScJo^O. ts E^dfddO uo AjEboi) ercaX ESSD^dra
^ExDFraAjsoa^. H^pOe^d: sii^Edjrf^A) cd©^ ao&o^ddo..
a5©tf Ede^abO ^Fuf ejscod roaatd acbd ^.sdo
^TiQ^earb^dx ^ozooQ^d Ek>9c&0 vdr^6 ^EdFSoxbajd
23? Ou
nsOCCb^ ydjadd371R9dU37fo3)Ci) EJOCb Ek)Ou
^djdfn^^uD© Z3DI Ab^ee ^f-SOef 3^A)C3Sd.

INFANT DIES: An infant died immediately after 11
its birth due to the alleged negligence of the two
nurses of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike
Maternity Home in J J Nagar. The nurses,
Prabhavathi and Puttabasamma have been sus­
pended. Sameena (22), a resident of J J Nagar,
was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday
evening. Source said she had suffered labour
pain during the night. Instead of attending to
her, the duty nurses reportedly walked away
telling her that nothing would happen. Around
2:30 am. when the pain was intolerable,
Sameena again cried for help. She delivered
while walking to the labour room. As the baby
fell on the ground, it died an instant death
police said. The activists of Vimochana an
NGO. staged a protest,
...

THE NEW SUNDAY EXPRESS
BANGALORE
SS

il -? A ©
one .knows.';J;’/
At the entrance of the
newly painted building
LALBAGH EXPRESS
U©®
with . cemented .seating
' ' ''7
Slm&nuDatB
..there lies a stack of bamboo
poles and a h uge roll of wire
She moved and stretched as • :
mesii Ask tliehrwhat these
iftryingto free herself out of .
are.'for, nd one knows.
the oversized garment look­
Above the seats are two
ing quite content. Her moth­
•' boards on which the hospi-'
er was on saline and draped. :
tai’s, “official details” have
.in a shocking,red blanket , .
been painted upon. On the
she looked quite sick. There
other .side, painted on the
. were sever? or eight others '
. •' wall is a chart of services on
like her resting in. a .large .
'r • offer. It’slike'a menu'card:'
room, one of the twb mater- '
Labour’sendees: Rs 10, Medn.ity halls' that hold .15 beds ’
. ical. Termination of Pregeach at the rather clean JJ
Z>' ■-? H
\
• nancy: Rs 100, .Minor
. Nagai: .Bangalore Corpora-.
•. - surgery: ■ Rs
. Maj or'
tion-run referral hospital in
:._
■ surgery: .the".paint has
the- westernparts ofthe Sili-.. .
•' peeled off, but we’re told it’s
conCapitaloflhdia.‘; < ?■ Rs 200. This is official.; A<
- It was here tliat a newborn
’But since’there is no in­
baby died the other day? .
-house pharmacy,- medicine
Newspaper reports, quoting
.. costs are extra,.-As for the
an-NGO, said the woman.
“unofficial payments”, it is
’ delivered on her own as .
’. usually Rs.500 for a boy and
there? were, n o. nur’ses. at
Rs 300 for a girl. ’ .
night and the baby fell off
' At doripalya, this is how
the. table. Two nurses .have
.•they bring .their children
been suspended though the ■ ■’
. into our world: sometimes
. others, swear, that was not;
without doctors, nurses and
what had happened:, the
anaesthetists, but most of
urnbilical.chord got tied
. August recorded an above are unable to take offs as the time with lots of luck. ’
around the baby’s neck.
It was more tlran luck that
• Life in JJ Nagar’s Gpri- average. 135 .deliveries they were three short and
| palya hasn’t changed dra- . including six Caesarians — nowwitlithesusrxjnsionsit made us' -the • State of
I matically after this baby’s . with its four doctors aiid six will get worse. The rest.of telemedicine and got us the
I death. Having been a fairly nurses.;".
nurses. None of the doctors the story is familial-: there is path-breaking Yashaswini
farmers
scheme
—— 1 1insurance
----------------..
! regular victim of communal isonduty atnight—if there only one gynaecologist f.
f ancriingiiisticclashes. itbas is an emergency, a car is though three have been which makes heart surgery
$ learnt to take death in its sent to fetch him/her and sanctioned, no assistant easily affordable at Rs 60.
’ stride. The maternity home the patient is left to pray. surgeon, and no anaes- It’s time we looked at what is
j is still reasonably busy — The nurses complain, they thetist. Ask them why, no called basic healthcare.
HE-three-day-old
baby looked smaller.

1

V-

'

■

W

'

' ■

W'-

Aw
A

»

i

'i

»i

i

’ 'i

.i -_L *

•i____ j:_._ .. r_. /"X—---------- ay

!

/{J THE NEW SUNDAY EXPRESS
r3®3 BANGALORE.

'

|

"OpenBCC maternity honmes to public scrutiny’
■j2

1
1
2,

Express News Service

:'

Sai^eens's family refetes B£C claims

{

maternity

homes. The ngo nas asma-

nded compensation for Sam­
Bangalore, Sept 6: Banga­
Bangalore: Sameena’s family related BCC officials’ claim that the baby died as it got eena, the mother, while add­
lore : City
Corporation
stuck in the.umblical cord. They'said the nurse did not wake up when Sameena went
' (BCC) maternity homes-sho- .. into labour, “If what they say is true, they should have ;sho.wn us the baby, with'the umb-. ling that the staff shquld.be
uld be open to /.public • lical.cord” said Farida, Sameena’s relative- who waited outside .the labdur ward when made- accountable for the
...death.- Sameena -and her
scrutiny and public, should ; the incident.occured.,
family, were present at the
be. actively involved in man; “Only a helper was around. The nurse picked the baby, from the floor while trying to press .. briefing. Sameena
aging ’them,- 'said Vimoch­
hide the injury,” said Farida. The, family said Sameena’s.husband Aijaz.Pasha had met who was hospitalised got la­
ana, a women’s NGO-in the
with an accident sometime ago. ‘‘The nature of injury was such that they cannot conce-• bour •pains, in the early
' city'.... . '.'
/
ive again,’’.said. Donna Fernandes of Vimochana. ' hours '■ of
Wednesday.
• The outcry follows a new
- : “This is a wake up call to set tilings right.at Maternity homes..They lack even the ba­ Nurses gave her injections :
born baby’s death, allegedly
sic facilities like telephone and potable, water, but cater to 30 per cent of the city’s deliv. due to the negligence, of aut­ . eries,’’ she said. According to-Fernandes, the BCG Commissioner has promised an inq­ and went to sleep, expect- ;
horities,’ at "the-. Jagjeevaii- • uiry into the'issue'“As always, the post-mortem report is not yet out. Victoria-Hospital ing the delivery .to take '
place ciround 5 a'.'m. Howe- j
ram Nagar Referral Hospi­
officials say they sent it to the police..Police-claim they have not received it,” she said.. ■;ver, Samdena delivered tlie I
tal tliisweek.
■
• . .
baby, without medical help |
' On
kjll Monday,
XYluuuciy, Vimochana'
v
with BCC and the baby died as it slip- |
plans 'to hold a ‘Women in ences at the J.J. Nagar Mat-’ - At -a. press conference, about a month
i
lommissioner SubBlack’ protest, mid a public ernity Home and other' here on Saturday, Viinoch-'' Special Commissioner
Sub­ ped and fell from the table,
hearing on patients’experi-- homes in the city. , .
;ana said. it. would, work for : 'hash Chandra to.. improve -the family members said. J
•

I

conditions' of

■ :

•

■

■

■

Bangalore, Motiday/Septemt

ws a
Of'doctortes"
n!

'M. Radhika

id nurses B we South
> G

.

i. v i.5clVd S
■ PROBLEMS

saufflONs

L

y and nurses in the eight maternity
H homes and two referral hospital:
hospitals
Maternity Home
Home I in this zone..
•x
= '>
’wyasiasai mauCHHiy
> -Jayanagar
Javana^arMatpmitvHnmp
DrNagarathna: '
r^HEY have the necessary : f entrance is a temporary
At
the
Jayanagar
Maternity
M the Jayanagar Maternity i;: BCC Additional Health ..
• • infrastructure. And they/J'., cattleshed ...■ /■ •■ ' J
J! Home, it’s pitch dark as the power • ! Officer, Soytli
Zone
------------------------:
.
L are quite cleantoo. Theodd
> Ayahs,
nurses
fleece
s fl e e c e Jk . .went
off last Sunday
■ ’
t
••
uunuaj event
C wiling. No
1*“
:--------one
’ year, we have dis- g
Qince
•'eptionis the JayanagarMater-. j’patients
patients for
for 'free'
'free''services
services , f| cranwoMr
services
, generator for emergency/ supply,., . Oplayed boards saying the / .
•:yHome*whose,entrance is
> No generator tn replace « forget incubators for habits. Thu
rned into a!;terhporary catpowercut; incubators for. g stall scramble for a candle whi’e ; . have kept complaint boxes. We b
died. Then, why arc the BCC ; babies missing
3
• - •••
. lemity homes a hotbed of hor- • > At.night doctors are abs-1 darlmess.
.W.Co™
jgister’. Corruption
has come
s ‘SXmirn,.
M„nMs
comeih
• stories and corruption where
duty down because of this, ini 4 such ij
:torless nights are as common up as gynaecologists
J works from 9 a.m. to 4 p.mii.- on -phomes,, we depute many on
Drunken brawls, laxsectiri- > .-wnrUnn rUvr
from . [• contract services so that they |
• •• •
• • s ' other maternity homes. me
TheBCC
BCC
•.. .fTdon'tindulge
don't indulgeinincorruption:
corruption: . ■ ■ I ■
---- said,most doctors in charge Of the
—__________ _
__J* ■
•nd, ai-e due to bureaucracy, sh- ensured that poor patient:
homes stay at the residential ,. Out of the four residential quar■pern n-P
___'• ■ h • < . ’ i
-i" ..
:'igalore/Sept?’-'

'

.

....... llTSTZSXSZ!

x/w . .u>v M

■■

JUUJIICU LUJlUi < IUI

•<•■;

r

%
<

fe

•

?

KSBf

'“ni

•rcino MairV(a' ’r' '' I‘

. . .Huai iciantJcuuy Luauenaroemer-

■rsing Maids (ANMscorrup-. y are free’t homes in the South Zone/./gene
■Q;lackofcUaigsupplythathaveWackoftogsupplytha^•.-. vManv/n hhhn nntinn+eeunii^,.
/\j
(
'

h/f-

at ni-bfbut
it.. are “underrepair’.’. Only• one of/ J J. Nagar referral hospital where a baby died recently due to
Turn fn Dacro '
Turn to Pages, negligence—Express photo
.

Bangalore

Jnesdcy, September 10,2093^.0

With The New Indian Express
a/7.

■'

Sia h
Express News service
Bangalore, Sept 9

ail 1 inked to doctors’ shortage and
lack nf QnrnriKr
''

V‘

* ’■ '■

-

Xi-L- - -

--■

■

■

■

■■

.

----------*'**

--- m

AXVliJ

WXV4WCW

'■beinglookedafterwell-Butasa
patient put “■ "You need tri Pay ■■
Iesserhero(totheayahsandni’rses than in other places. At the

•fSSg&SSrTliis was tliescene in
BCC-

■
most
Sunkadakatte ViinvnnlnPUraJ —an‘ecl t0 see tlls Patient during
■run maternity homes of Banga- also placed1’"I non-visitinShours/’
lore West as this paper found out Magadi nrefeTth! ? .73 am ■ At thc HosahaUi Referral Hoson Tuesday, as the stafi’at some or hom^tob
niatci'pity P'tal. at least 250 deliveries are
■ these homes were 'prepared' to pitlls “TheK C cXr’oi h"
co”ducted every month. It has a

«
gsass
A„.,.„t,Mes
„„ortolTUP:
.

ySQ

Wi’IArSWHOMcF] I

“Sij’SSXXS,,.,:
high in Srirampuram Maternity Home scores with patients

’"URSES hovering around
■?? I JVr Patients. Helpers
quickly
:■»■—.•
dai^hMr rUr d R ! Tu' Wh°-?
■ fixing posters to ‘educate’ . daughtf
patients
in
the
post-delivery
Magadi
Road^mn^t^ atfue
^•patients; in; the/post-delivery ;
wards. Staff of maternity homes ago2'
1 . onie‘"o months
’

BlliOfiiiinitiwues io B'lo're West
sSaXSft

n
ranipurain4 Maternity nuine
Home ana
and

7 .------- ar*-*-*-xxx xttvu, Hit

•expecting a team from ttii:

? tion,.callousness of.staff and highertl^bribi
. patients having to depend on out- j
.side pharmacies for medicines - ' ' mat's the response in the Sri-

■

> 'Prepared' and 'expecting' a m
visit from this paper on Tues: f)
day, west Zone was all geared H
up with activities but...
• 0
> "Corruption particularly high 0
in Srirampuram and Magadi I ■
Road maternity homes," says 0
a patient .
|
> At Rajajinagar home, one has h
: to pay lesser than other 0
places; nevertheless "patie- 0
nts are looked after well"
I
> However, missing doctorsand f{
rude attendants continue to I
haunt this zone too
0

la;
SSSK^V4
“trained enough’’

.-

A

-h h;■<
*

2 •A'..’

I

'
■

■ ■

■'

■ r -v .x i •

•’■

S 1
- '4

alb

wS

J

is located in the highly pop'!£sS
’r)“™te,,“ Home
r'
Yeshwanthpur Market
The Yeshwanthpur Maternity ulated
’
working overtime as c/tyapreisieani vfcRedTto^TSa^;
'"■■■■■ Turn to Page 3

>

\ •’ < -: ,

~ExpressphotobyBha'rgavi ‘

■Corrijptipn,'canDcJsness
•/ where 80 deliveries a month are■■ ■ .
...
.recorded,on.an average. “V/e encourage patients to go to the nearest
&the11’ ai’eaS inStea^ °‘r.coming here,” said a doctor
The Magad! Road.home has just one patient as it is under renovation I
. said, staffers. An outsider, however, caimof escape tlie. rudeness of the ‘ I
helpei s here. Doctors in all the honies face the pressure ofworking extra
■ hours during emergencies. It is. worse for nurses and ayahs. “Patients
.are more aggressive in the Yeshwanthpur area cpmpared.to the ones vis- itmg Ganganagar. Maternity Homeland M.R, Palya..Maternity.'Home’
. said a doctor.; Everyone knows .there is needier more staff, but nd one ’
. not even the BCC bosses have convincing ans wers..
... ^.e
has been on an alert after the recent baby-‘theft’ at the Raia•!m2oar Maternity Home,’where they have been screening people ;espe’• cially tlipse carrying babies’;
;
.
(Concluded)

■

1

Bangaiorejuesfey,September?,2003^.^--/ .With Ths New Indian Express.

' . With .no pliariweies
.... ss^'iMiiy-'COiTt'80'®*
. .....
.. . .... SB5,E "s~>
s==~5S'
Express News Service

. Bangalore/septs

.• ' '?

~~-

A few days ago, sources said a pa hent w^io <'r~~
t?> •
-—
coiddnotreachaHomeonti^,^S
5~

Blsre East
sgs ' .phones or pharmacies; With the patient
being high, the centre heeds more ■
infrastructure to handle complicated •
|- labour cases instead of referring them to
| other hospitals.’ ; ■'
I' p'7'111110 Bocto around for most pai'-t of •’
" ■ I

is the’
■'buzzword in Bangalore these days her baby m an auto’rickshaw. Wliile this '
: is strangely absent like the disap­
ca-u/wiHcer - ■
pearing doctors in most BCC-run mater- . me
| BCC ChiefHealth Officer.. •
• nity homes.in the civic body’s East Zone.
. rhese homes cannot be trusled duringan ’
hepatient.
Wy askodme to goback to iI. each
each delivery ■ h' ; '
■
---- ... “Theyaskedmetogobackto
emergency as there are no pharmacies • theautorickshawdriverforrhnhir^^v:°‘ fPU m’ -YoU nceci Pblltlcal inf1 y hospital has |. Woach'rdads and location pf DJB’alli home are bvf I
■' attached to them, and^^sc«
;
I
^
soor
: come at tificate,” said Ratna..
| ^titwasmeantforsiumdweiiers.Wearetiyinntog^ I ■ hiZ?TlvGttnGl3<?Cl^^i^homequ- .
public phone
v,/:' nie>taenptma^tainedwelltoo.” '
I
The fesiiit: Patients wait endlessly for in^oM^^
"r get prc-iabollri ! no
phara®
l’0''c.booth
‘<30li' hui
"°r |» i the drain adjacentto it closed. There are plans to tn:n I
The i esiilt: Patients wait endlessly for
pharmacies|g the staff to be polite'to patients.-We are aware tfrt
i Nd\ses at the Austm Town, maternityO '“TO

4- X •4.1 - 1 _ .•

and h-veTb

1 tesssj* I

--

m3dicine they.must get ■

SSSSE^^

(

' -gKaStesS i S7W8S”” !

...... *......."j . .anps* i;J ■ there is corruption, a reasdn.why we bmuidit in-t^rf
a 1?ecilJiar Pr°blem: “Patients'.
has patients not listening to | Jj pie oi i contract. The ANMs were more corrupt sowe i ' £ usat,og°^
they are • /
were more corrupt, sowe
; nurses, and drunkards wantiI got them removed and placed
qualified nurses
I • from
ThGy come mostly •
JM* ■ I ‘I '^^consbtutedaboardo^o
.. .i ....
hom Neelasandia, Austin Towii Vivekcontrol cor-g
cor- | nagar. “It’s hard to refer them to othpr'
) control

>MateraityHome,heipct-smvstbafaWRs '

---------

S._______ ____ _

"

sssnse^ t «*s™ -Sss.

£Xnaec°,°^. |< yhtrolofcorruptionhasbeengbodin
•|
but a l0in
Iou needs-to.
be done about
oth
911K£orchunk'of^population ' l| >Apathy, neg^enceand rude I . • £^
^s'to-bedo;leabo
utothers.To'counter
,,|
h ;

•

•

''

times there are drunkards who insist on
meeting patients at night,” said another
i| . nurse. “It means a lot of .pressure;
.
Patients listen to ’doctors, mot nurses’ ” •
I; j -,eges to post their post-graduate students.
said Savifhi'pinina, a nurse.?
.... ........ .................................................... ...................... ................... .. ........... A5

^Tomorrow: Bangalore West. .
'----------------- :__ £___ •____ .

■

...............................

Bangalore, Thursday, September 11,2003“ :With The New Indian Express
■

.■

■

, '
i

S® recrastm ghfeduty

i To weed out corruption,
the BCC plans to conduct
orientation training

at a!'
al!! niateraoty !i©®es

. BCCCohumssionerM.R. Srecn- nant women from poor back- such training.”
The South Zone has 10.maternity ' there arc fewer doctors and nurs9H Ann Hnl
i vnrinc
* Wnw/nlnyn
h* 23 maternity
ivasa Murtiiy said it would take a ground. Aboutt 28,000
deliveries
Bangalore lias
homes under its two referral hos- •. cs in these homes today.
wntlitopostthe.docwrsin.alltlie
montli
topost the doctors mail die ■- are conducted here every year, homes apart from the urban pitals. The East Zone
.... has six . The.BCC has also decided to
homes at night. “We had sent a covering about 30 per cent of the health centres and dispensaries maternity homes and the West install public teW'
' hones in the.
■
nrnm^l
minichild-biillis
chilH.hirmcin
inthe city..
oitv
..... u..,,.
..........
,
proposal tnthp^tntnGnvprnmnnt
to the State Government total
coming under die Referral Hospi- Zone
has seven,
' maternity
homes. Murthy said
j.By M. Radhika
■
seeking permission to recruit
Regarding corruption by atten- tals
lalsrunby
rim by theBCC.
the BCC. “Tiiere were'
were ' Some homes were
wuxv built
uuxu uby.
y the the BCC has ^uu
itu aa pruvcimw
started
preventive
more
doctors
even
before
last
dants
and
nurses,
Murthy
said
the
30
earlier,
but
five
have
been
shiftIndia
Population
Project
3
and
'
healthcare
pilot
project io regu•'.Bangalore; Sept 10
‘
W1
' -week’s -incident (where, a baby . BCC had plans to conduct..‘orient ed outside the city to cater to tlie doctors, too, were posted, but till larly screen people h v ir. iri p.o
idled, allegedly due to the neglige- tation training’ forthem.
population there,” said BCC Chief the project lasted. Asa result, . slums, of Bangalore
^ai:8^ore City Corpor- nceofstaiD.Butinyiewofthepronceoi auui;. om hi view 01 me proreopie
People irom
from inc
the lower
lowereconcr
econom- Health Officer Dr Susheela
«____________________
_
; ■ ' ation (BCG) has decided to ' • blem,
we plan to post at least a mi-' ’ ic strata prefer maternity
.homes Shekar.
Murthy said more such '
...............................................................................
......................
...............................................
:
-soonpost night duty docto- nimum number of doctors in the to bigger government hospitals ’ maternity homes, would be Con­
ors in tlieBCC-run maternity hom- Refemd Hospitals now,” he said. because, of relatively:lesser cor- structed in future.
-J ;
|es;Teinporarily,it\yoiildpostdoc/These doctors are expected to ruption. w .
The hospitals run. by 'the BCC .
Night doctors at Referral Hospitals, temporarily ’
t tors on night duty in its Referral attend to .emergencies in, the
But Health Minister Kagodu. come under three zones for the
^Proposal to recruit more doctors
■ ■ ••
. "
|
^Hospitals, that mostly cater to maternity homes tliat come under Thimmappa said orientation pro- entire city - South, East and West.
Health Minister says
for.doctors
staff_to be
. 'orientation'
_____
_____ and
__ ___
; .maternity services in the city. ■. their purview. He was hopeful the - grammes for the staff are being • Each zone has two referral hosni- : ' intensified
.
. '.
The decision comes after this ' proposal would be cleared soon,. . conducted regularly. “We are tals with maternity homes; urban
'>• Public telephones in maternity homes
/paper highlighted the problems at ■’ The BCCjmaternity. homes' -thinking ofintensifying thesepro- healihcare centres and dispen^Preventive healthcare project in parts of city
e 23BCC-run mtiternity homes, remain'the first choice for preg-. grammes, and cover people under . saries coming under its purview.
.

r-» /> »>-'

* /-rV* 4-

t-/

A.. Pj'..

zx a v

......

w.^

K

, . ...

1

1 i ’

'

»

1 •

Cl

i

4
I
!•
Media
RF_MP_14_SUDHA.pdf

Position: 1557 (4 views)