TIRUNELVELI: A woman’s family has accused doctors at the Tenkasi District Government Headquarters Hospital (GHQH) of negligence after she died at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital on Tuesday, six days after delivering a boy on November 8, allegedly due to hepatitis. The family said she’d gone to GHQH on November 3 with complaints of vomiting, but nurses at the hospital abused her for coming to the hospital a month ahead of her due date and sent her away.
Angered over the death, the family of K Samuthirakani (34), from Poigai village of Kadayanallur block, submitted a petition to Tenkasi Collector D Ravichandran on Tuesday evening and staged a sit-in protest at the Collectorate after talks with him failed. The family charged that she might have survived if the GHQH had diagnosed the hepatitis earlier.
“She went to GHQH on November 3 complaining of vomiting and seeking admission. However, the nurses abused her and refused admission. On November 8, she reported vomiting and abdominal pain, and we took her to GHQH where she was diagnosed with hepatitis. GHQH referred her to TvMCH where she delivered the baby the same day,” said Maasanamuthu, a relative of Samuthirakani. Her medical file, accessed by TNIE, showed that her November 3 visit had been recorded.
However, GHQH Superintendent Dr R Jesline claimed Samuthirakani last visited the GHQH for a regular checkup on October 28. “We do not screen for hepatitis during regular check up and she did not mention any symptoms indicative of hepatitis. She might have contracted the infection after that visit. We screen pregnant women for hepatitis only in the third,” he said.
The monthly check ups include blood tests for diabetes and haemoglobin, urine tests, and determination of the infant’s weight. Additional tests are conducted following any complaints from the patient’s end, he explained. In the fifth month, Jesline added, tests are conducted primarily to detect foetal anomalies. Doctors said the type of hepatitis Samuthirakani had contracted would only be known after the postmortem exam.
Medical records showed that Samuthirakani was also being treated at the Poigai Primary Health Centre (PHC). “She came to the PHC on November 7 with complaints of vomiting and abdominal pain. She was referred to the GHQH,” said a doctor seeking anonymity. The doctor added that Samuthirakani had delivered her first child at a private hospital seven years ago.
A doctor from the TvMCH told TNIE that Samuthirakani was brought to the facility only after her condition had deteriorated. “Since she had lost a lot of blood post-delivery, she had to undergo a blood transfusion. Although she showed signs of recovery the next day, she again took a turn for the worse. The condition of the baby remains critical,” the doctor said. Including Samuthirakani’s, Tenkasi has reported two and Tirunelveli five maternal deaths in November.