Six days after the maternal death at Midnapore Medical College & Hospital (MMCH) which created a political uproar, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the state’s health & family welfare minister, made her first official remarks on the issue.
On Thursday, she claimed that the negligence of doctors led to the death at MMCH. Consequently, the state has suspended 12 doctors, informed the chief minister during a press conference, also attended by chief secretary Manoj Pant and Narayan Swaroop Nigam, the secretary of the health & family welfare department.
They disclosed that preliminary investigations by the health department's 13-member expert committee and the CID had determined that the negligence of on-duty doctors was responsible for the maternal death and the severe illnesses of others after their caesarean surgeries.
There were allegations that the maternal death and the subsequent illnesses of others were caused by Ringer’s Lactate saline produced by the blacklisted company Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals Limited. However, the health secretary asserted that the saline from the batch sent to MMCH had been properly tested.
“[The saline used] from this batch was repeatedly tested. But since we have an SOP for this kind of incidents, we have sent it for testing again. We have stopped using the saline and we are also not taking any item from the saline company,” Nigam said.
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Among the suspended senior doctors were Dr Soumen Das (residential medical officer, MMCH), Dr Dilip Kumar Pal and Dr Himadri Nayek (assistant professors), Dr Md Alauddin (HOD, gynecology), Dr Jayanta Kumar Raut (medical superintendent and vice principal, MMCH), and Dr Pallabi Banerjee (senior resident, MMCH).
Additionally, six post-graduate trainees (PGTs) were suspended: Dr Moumita Mondal, Dr Bhagyashree Kundu, Dr Sushanta Mondal, Dr Puja Saha, Dr Manish Kumar, and Dr Jagriti Ghosh.
“If those responsible for shaping people's destinies and bringing children into the world had performed their duties with honesty, the mother’s life could have been saved,” CM Banerjee said.
She added, “Individuals lacking the skills to perform caesarean surgeries were entrusted with the task, and those untrained in administering anesthesia were assigned that responsibility.”
The chief minister remarked that if CCTV cameras had been installed outside the operating theatre (OT), the culprits could have been caught. She directed the health secretary to ensure the immediate installation of CCTVs, adding, "Doctors oppose the installation of cameras outside the OT, but if they continue to do so now, ask them to leave."
The chief secretary stated that the RMO and the on-call doctor, who were responsible for the surgeries, failed to attend to the patients. He also accused senior doctors of violating SOPs. “The operations were performed by first assistant and second assistant,” he said.
Chief Secretary Pant further mentioned that preliminary investigations have shown that patients' families were asked to sign a declaration acknowledging the possibility of "a probable adverse drug reaction."