HYDERABAD: Was there a delay in certifying the death Nagalakshmi, a patient who had suffered post-tubectomy complications, and was subsequently admitted at Osmania General Hospital. Shockingly, the deceased woman’s body was handed over for post mortem examination (PME) only around nine-hours after the death.In the hospital record accessed by Express, it is mentioned that the woman had died at 5.30 am on October 22.
Sources in the hospital said there was some confusion between doctors from the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit (RICU) and General Surgery department over declaring the death. It was finally resolved at around 2.30 pm. In the meantime, family members of the deceased had to wait for nine hours to take the body to mortuary for PME. Making the situation worse for them, the PME was not performed on the same day as it was too late by the time the body was taken for post mortem and the forensic doctors were busy clearing previous cases. The PME was performed on October 24 and the report is yet to be filed.
Case history
Nagalaxmi had undergone tubectomy at Postpartum Unit in Mahbubnagar on October 12. Mahbubnagar district medical and health officer R Rajani said that Nagalaxmi started to bleed from the stitches around half-an-hour to an hour after the surgery. “She was sent to Mahbubnagar General Hospital where she was kept under observation for a day. As abdominal distention was observed, she was referred to Osmania General Hospital,” Rajani said.
Nagalaxmi was admitted in OGH on October 13 and the surgery was performed on October 16. Sources said the patient was in a bad condition and because of intestinal injury during the tubectomy, she went into sepsis. A day after it was observed that bile juices were flowing out from her intestines, surgery was taken up by doctors of the general surgery department. “Her intestines were damaged. She developed breathing problem and was admitted to the RICU,” sources said. It is learnt that patient died in RICU.
Confusion
After the death, a junior doctor was called in to certify the death. This led to an argument between doctors of the two departments. The issue blew up to an extent that OGH’s superintendent Dr GVS Moorthy had to intervene. And the family were kept waiting.“It is not proper to keep family members waiting for the body as they are already under a lot of trauma. Since it was a medico-legal case and post-tubectomy complications is a national issue, everyone was hesitant,” sources said.
Superintendent issues circular
OGH’s superintendent Dr GVS Moorthy in a circular shot to heads of all the departments on October 25, stated that one of the unit chiefs is reluctant to declare death in RICU even though the patient belonged to their unit. “Hence, all HoDs and unit chiefs are requested to instruct their assistant professors and duty doctors to declare death of patients as early as possible,” mentioned the circular. The circular also stated: ‘It is observed that declaration of death of their respective unit patients are happening late after death of the patient in RICU”.