HYDERABAD: As many as four women who attended the Double Puncture Laparoscopy (DPL) camp at a government hospital in Ranga Reddy district in Telangana five days ago succumbed, officials said on Tuesday.
With protests by the kin of the deceased alleging medical negligence, the state government has ordered a comprehensive inquiry headed by State Director of Public Health G Srinivasa Rao into the tragedy and he will submit his report in seven days.
Ibrahimpatnam police said protests were held on Monday evening demanding justice. DPL is a female sterilisation programme.
The camp was conducted on August 25 at the government hospital at Ibrahimpatnam in Ranga Reddy district with 34 women undergoing the surgery, Srinivasa Rao said.
While two deaths occurred earlier, the two others died on Monday evening.
The State government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and a house under the State government's two-bedroom house scheme.
The deceased had complained of symptoms, including gastroenteritis (GE). Expressing anguish over the incident, Rao said the cause of death would be known only after a post-mortem.
In the wake of four deaths, 30 women have been screened with regard to their health status, he said.
As a precautionary measure, seven have been admitted to a major private hospital in the city, while two others were being treated at the State-run Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) here.
None of the 30 women faced any life-threatening problem, Rao said. The government would also take care of the education of the children of the deceased.
The government on Monday ordered a comprehensive inquiry headed by Rao into the tragedy and he will submit his report in seven days.
The superintendent of the hospital where the surgeries were performed has been placed under suspension.
The doctor who performed the surgeries has been stripped of his licence temporarily.
The government would review the programme and take necessary measures to address any shortcomings, Rao said.
Replying to a query, he said about 1.50 lakh surgeries are performed every year and it needs to be investigated why the problem occurred only this year and at this particular camp.
All precautions are being taken to avoid the recurrence of such tragedies, he added.