BURLA:After the death of four mothers in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department at VSS Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) earlier this month, another woman died after childbirth in the department on Wednesday night. As in the earlier cases, this time too, the family members were allegedly forced to take away the body without performing post-mortem. The family cremated the body on Thursday.
The woman, identified as Mamata Pandey (27) of Senhapalli village under Burla police limits, was under treatment of officiating head of the O&G Department Dr Lalmohan Nayak throughout her pregnancy. She was admitted to VIMSAR on Monday morning after she developed labour pain and a caesarian section was performed on her on Wednesday. She had delivered a girl child.
Mamata was transfused with two units of blood as she bled excessively after the surgery and was even shifted to the Central ICU. Sources said another unit of blood was administered to her in the Central ICU. But, her condition did not improve and blood pressure dropped abnormally resulting in her death at about 11.30 pm on Wednesday.
Without conducting the post-mortem, the hospital authorities forced her family members to take the body which was cremated on Thursday morning.
Mamata’s husband Hari Pandey claimed that soon after she died, the hospital authorities forced them to take the body despite their protest.
Superintendent of VIMSAR Dr LK Dash said Mamata’s haemoglobin level was very low and it did not improve despite blood transfusion resulting in her death. Efforts to contact Dr Lalmohan Nayak on his mobile proved futile.
Like previous cases, several questions remain unanswered this time also. When the haemoglobin was low, why was the patient not transfused with blood when she was admitted on Monday and the doctors waited till Wednesday night after caesarian was performed? Could the woman have been saved had the blood transfusion been done on Monday when she was admitted?
In the previous cases, Dr Lalmohan cited sickle cell as the reason behind the deaths.
This is the fifth such case in the department of VIMSAR. A woman died after delivery on April 3 followed by three deaths on April 10. The cause of deaths in the four cases could not be ascertained as autopsy was not conducted and the bodies were cremated by the family members.