VELLORE: Parents of a seven-day-old baby boy have alleged that a nurse at the Vellore Government Medical College and Hospital in Adukkamparai severed their son’s right hand thumb up to the nail due to negligence.
Speaking to TNIE, S Vimalraj, baby’s father, said that the nurse used scissors to remove a plaster placed at the injection site where the child was given drips, which resulted in the child’s thumb being cut. She could have used her hands for the procedure, the 29-year-old father said.
Vimalraj said his 23-year-old wife, V Nivetha, delivered the baby via C-section on May 24.
“After delivery, the child was kept in an incubator and given IV drips as they said he had swallowed a fluid (amniotic fluid),” he said, expressing anger and sorrow over the incident.
Vimalraj, an auto driver, and Nivetha, a housewife, are residents of the Manga Mandi area in Vellore.
According to sources, the incident occurred around 11am on Friday. The baby’s grandmother, Jayanthi, was near the child when it happened. On seeing blood flowing profusely from the baby’s hand, the nurse allegedly rushed the child to the ICU, saying a different injection had to be administered.
Baby admitted to Stanley Hospital for treatment
“Only around 2.30pm was I called in and informed about the incident by the dean and other staff. We were then asked to take the child to Stanley Government Hospital for plastic surgery,” he said. On Saturday, Vimalraj said that at Stanley Hospital, the severed portion of the child’s thumb was stitched and the baby is now stable.
“Immediately after the thumb was cut, he lost a lot of blood, could not bear it, and was crying uncontrollably when the plaster was removed at the Chennai hospital. For now we want him to become alright. We think plastic surgery can be done later when he’s a little older,” he said.
A complaint has been filed by the grandmother Jayanthi against the nurse at the Kanniyambadi police station.
Speaking to TNIE, Vellore Collector V R Subbulaxmi said that once the parents return to Vellore after the child’s treatment, a medical team will be sent to investigate the incident with them and appropriate action will be taken. She added that the dean of the hospital had informed her that the nurse should have used her hand instead of scissors in this case.
Despite multiple attempts, the hospital dean, Rohini Devi, could not be reached for comment.