The Tamil Nadu government has suspended two doctors for medical negligence following the death of a teenage footballer at a hospital in Chennai. 17-year-old R Priya was a first-year undergraduate student in physical education. Her leg had to be amputated after she underwent surgery for a torn ligament in her knee at another hospital last week. She died at 7:15 of multi-organ failure.
To fix the ligament in her right knee, Priya was admitted to Periyar Nagar Government Peripheral Hospital where she underwent arthroscopy, a minimally invasive surgery, on November 7. “Due to the carelessness of the doctors who performed the surgery, the compression bandage was too tight, which caused extensive damage to blood flow and led to the death of blood vessels and she was in great pain,” the health ministry said. The next day, she was taken to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), where doctors said they had to amputate her leg on November 9 to save her life.
When she was in the ICU, she was treated by senior doctors. “She suffered kidney, liver and heart damage as her blood flow was affected,” the health ministry said. “The investigation found negligence on the part of the doctors who performed the operation.” The state government on Monday transferred two surgeons — Dr A Paul Ram Sankar, assistant professor of orthopedics, and Dr K Somasundar, emergency physician from Periyar Nagar Government Periphery Hospital.
After her death, the government issues suspension orders for two surgeons. An autopsy was completed Tuesday. “Based on the preliminary autopsy, the police will initiate criminal proceedings,” said Dr. Therani Raja, Dean, Madras Medical College and RGGGH. There was heavy police presence at the hospital as Priya’s family protested demanding immediate action. Family members said Priya was busy with studies and football practice.
“My child is only 17 years old. We trusted the government hospital and today she is dead,” said Priya’s mother. “The doctors said it was a minor operation on her right knee ligament. My daughter was in pain after the surgery. Every time she cried, they gave her an injection and she fell asleep. The doctors must be arrested.” Health Minister M Subramanian told reporters that the treatment Priya received was correct. “However, there was medical negligence,” the minister said.
“She was fine when I came here the day before. We have also informed the hospital (RGGGH) that we will arrange a robotic artificial limb from Bengaluru once he recovers. The death of that child hurt us all.” The Tamil Nadu government offered ₹10 lakh as compensation and a government job for one of her three brothers. Priya’s father had already asked the minister for a government job for his daughter while she was in the hospital. “They are already in poverty, so her father has asked for a government job, which we will give to one of her brothers,” he added.
Read Now :<strong>The 18th edition of the Indo-US joint exercise ‘YUDH ABHYAS 22’ in Uttarakhand</strong>
