Violence hits nursing home

LUCKNOW: An agitated mob went on rampage at a private medical nursing home at Keshavnagar, Sitapur Road, on Monday morning following death of a patient allegedly due to medical negligence. The mob led by family members of the deceased patients painted the walls of the nursing home with unsavoury remarks against the doctors, broke the furniture and glasses of vehicles parked outside.They also threatened that they would not allow the doctor to run the nursing home in future.
Police had to intervene to save the doctors and protect the nursing home being threatened by the agitated mob. Asma Khan (35) suddenly collapsed late at night on Sunday after being operated for appendicitis here.
Muhammad Nadeem, the patient''s cousin said: "Asma was under the treatment of Dr Santosh Kumar from May 3 as she was suffering with fever accompanied with cramps in abdomen. She was admitted to the nursing home on May 7. Dr Santosh Kumar examined her and referred for an ultrasound. On May 8 the ultrasound test report revealed that she had a stone in the appendix and needed to be operated immediately. Dr Kumar advised us to take the patient to Vivekananda Polyclinic. We were winding up when he came back and told us he had managed things and the operation could be done in the private nursing home."
Further, Nadeem, said, "Dr Kumar said the operation would be done by Dr Devendra Singh. Within an hour Asma was taken for operation. However, no pre-operative tests were done. In the middle of the operation doctors called for the patient''s husband and told him that patient''s intestines were worn out and demanded Rs 5,000 to continue. After about an hour, the patient was brought back. She gained consciousness in an hour and complained of excruciating pain in the operated area. However, doctors said pain was obvious after surgery. At about midnight Asma passed away."
Asma''s husband, Mashkur Ahmed Khan said, "that operation theatre was a a 15 x 12 room — which appeared to be a kitchen.
There were hardly any equipments and a five-feet long stretcher was there in the name of an operation table." "All the nurses, ward boys and doctors fled in the morning. With no one around to take out the drip from the patient''s hands, we had to call another doctor from outside for help," said Abid Ali Khan, patient''s nephew. He also claimed that blood test report of the patient given by the nursing home carried name of one Mrs Mahak.
President, of the nursing home trust, Balak Ram, denied the charges and said that the patient was fine after the operation and was talking to her relatives. She died of cardiac arrest much later.