Last week around 30 outraged Kolkata citizens violently attacked a hospital in India after the death of Kuheli Chakraborty, a four-month-old infant. The enraged mob reportedly cracked the glass doors at the entrance of the facility prompting police intervention to break up the protesters. Kuheli’s parents allege that if not for the negligence of doctors at the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, their baby girl would still be alive. The malpractice accusation is the second brought against the hospital in the last three months. In February a patient lost their life at the hospital due to alleged medical negligence and the facility has been under state scrutiny ever since.
On April 13th, after her parents found blood in her stool, Kuheli was rushed to the ESI Joka Hospital, where her father works as an X-ray technician. Two days later she was transferred to the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital, a joint venture between the Apollo Group of Hospitals and Parkway Holdings. She was transferred to Apollo for a colonoscopy, but was not treated for days. Kuheli’s parents claim that the 510-bed multispecialty hospital located in Kolkata committed a series of errors that led to the death of their daughter, including the delay in her treatments.
Avijit Chakraborty, Kuheli’s father, told reporters that her doctors withheld food from the infant on April 16th from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. to get her ready for the colonoscopy, but they never administered the test. The next day, on the 17th, the doctors once again had the infant fast for 8 hours and once again they did not perform the colonoscopy. It was at this point Kuheli’s father became worried and relayed his concerns to the attending physicians.
“I had repeatedly told the doctors to first check if my baby was healthy enough to take anesthesia,” said Avijit Chakraborty.
But the doctors went ahead with the treatment on April 18th despite her father’s concerns. Immediately following the colonoscopy Kuheli went into cardiac arrest. She was quickly revived, but required a ventilator to keep her breathing. The infant was then rushed to critical care, but on the morning of April 19th a second cardiac arrest caused her to lose her life.
“My daughter has been murdered by the doctors,” said Shalu Chakraborty, the infant’s mother. “I want all three doctors against whom we have lodged a complaint to be punished.” An investigation into the alleged medical malpractice is now pending.
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