CHENNAI: Following the recent death of 26-year-old S Hemachandran from Puducherry, during bariatric surgery at BP Jain Hospital, Pammal, the health department has temporarily sealed the hospital citing a lack of proper infrastructure to manage emergency cases and also asked the TN Medical Council to take appropriate action against the doctors who performed the surgery aided by unqualified and untrained staff nurses.
The action was initiated by the directorate of medical and rural health services, based on a report submitted by the inquiry team formed by the health department, following allegations of medical negligence made by the deceased’s parents.
The hospital’s license has also been temporarily cancelled as per the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Rules, 2018, stated an official release from the health department.
Regarding the botched surgery, the release stated, “The surgery was performed with untrained, non-qualified staff nurses. There was a one-hour delay in shifting the patient to Rela Hospital after he suffered a cardiac arrest.” The release further added that informed consent was also not obtained from Hemachandran’s parents prior to the surgery. The hospital did not have any ICU doctors, general physicians or cardiologists on duty when the surgery was performed, nor did it possess any high-end equipment such as an ECMO, it noted.
Hemachandran was taken to the operation theatre at BP Jain Hospital on April 22, 8.45 am, and suffered a cardiac arrest less than an hour later. Due to the lack of equipment, he was then shifted to Rela Hospital, where he died on April 23 at 9.05 pm without responding to treatment, the release said.
“The deceased had initially planned to undergo surgery at Rela Hospital, and met with Dr Perungo, a surgeon. However, the doctor told the family that the surgery would cost around `6-8 lakh at Rela, and the same would cost only `3-4 lakh at BP Jain Hospital. Moreover, Dr Perungo also told them BP Jain Hospital has all the necessary medical facilities and equipment, the same as Rela Hospital,” the release said. In light of this situation, the health department has asked the TN Medical Council to take action on Dr Perungo and the other doctors involved, it added.