BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Friday asked the State Government to pay Rs 3 lakh compensation to the next of kin of a woman who died due to wrong blood transfusion in Keonjhar district headquarters hospital (DHH). Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, the rights panel had registered a case in 2016.
Chanda Naik of Keonjhar’s Puruna Bazaar area had admitted his wife Sukanti Naik in medicine ward of the DHH. Another woman Sukanti Nayak of Champua was admitted in obstetrics and gynecology ward. Both the patients required blood transfusion and their blood groups were different. However, Sukanti Naik’s health condition deteriorated after she received wrong blood, which was meant for Nayak, and she subsequently died.
After registering suo motu case, OHRC had sought reports from the Principal Secretary of Health and Family Welfare department, Keonjhar Collector and CDMO over the issue. All the reports submitted before the Commission admitted that mismatched blood was transfused to Chanda’s wife, which led to her death.
The hospital authorities had then terminated contractual laboratory technician Bharati Mahanta and staff nurse Hemalata Mahanta from the service. Doctor Sujit Kumar Brahma, working as Leave Training Reserve Medical Officer at the DHH, was also suspended after the incident.“Since the State admits that due to transfusion of mismatched blood, the patient died. It is not necessary to strive hard to find out for whose negligence the incident had occurred.
On the basis of admission of the State, we are inclined to hold that the death of the woman occurred due to gross medical negligence at the DHH,” the OHRC observed.“The State Government is liable to provide compensation and we recommend it to pay ` three lakh to the victim’s husband Chanda Naik,” OHRC Chairperson Justice Bimala Prasad Das and Member Justice Raghubir Dash said in the order.