Patient’s death in Pulwama Hospital opens Pandora’s Box

Srinagar, Jul 22: A shocking pattern of alleged medical negligence has come to fore. From a second death within a week at Pulwama Hospital due to alleged negligence by the staff, to unreported tragedies covered rarely by media, the healthcare system is under the scanner of people. While families grieve and seek answers, the response from authorities remains muted.

The family and community of the deceased 40 year old man staged a protest on Tuesday.

The family alleged that the patient from Shith-Parepora was administered injections when he was at the hospital for consultation regarding abdominal pain at District Hospital Pulwama. He “collapsed soon after” and was resuscitated as per the hospital staff. He was sent to SMHS Hospital in a ‘relatively stable condition’, however, he died on the way. The family has alleged negligence by doctors, questioned the quality and safety of injections that were administered  and demanded answers to why the ambulance took “an hour” to start shifting the patient. The series of events to ascertain what went wrong and resulted in his death, must have been thoroughly probed. Many feel that an independent inquiry could have restored trust of people in the system, but it is yet to come.

Director Health Services Kashmir, Dr Jehnagir Bakshi visited the hospital and announced that ‘a high level inquiry’ had been initiated from the Directorate and that it was too early to comment on the incident.

Earlier this month, a woman, 24, lost life after delivering her first child. The family alleged that doctors’ incompetence resulted in her death and questioned the system at the hospital. However, a fortnight later, the family has no answers. Chief Medical Officer Pulwama, Dr Tehmina Jameel said the inquiry into the case of woman’s death earlier this month was underway, while “preliminary inquiry” had been carried out in the case of death of man with abdominal pain.

It is interesting to note the inquiry committee tasked with probing the death of a woman at District Hospital Pulwama included Consultant Surgeon of the same hospital, Consultant Gynaecologist of the same hospital and Anesthetist of a nearby CHC. It is not surprising when people allege that past inquiries into similar incidents have not yielded any results or pinned responsibilities.

MLA Rajpora, Waheed Para (@parawahid) also took to X on Tuesday, alleging that “mismanagement, doctors’ negligence, and defunct machinery” cost a life at District Hospital Pulwama. He lamented that the death was the second in a week at this hospital and unacceptable given that the hospital is a “state-of-the-art facility”. The post set a stream of similar reactions into motion. One user demanded that accountability must be fixed. “Doctors, administrators, and the health department cannot shrug off responsibility,” he wrote. Another use alleged that families are punished for seeking answers. One more person posted that neither Government in J&K, nor doctors consider or classify these deaths caused by medical negligence. “They are the collateral damage of a broken system which has neither regard, nor empathy for human lives!” he posted.

A stark contrast to these hushed, muted responses was seen in May in Srinagar when an independent inquiry was ordered into the case of alleged medical negligence at a private hospital in Srinagar, immediately after the incident. In addition, the entire staff that was part of the patient’s treatment was suspended for an indefinite period. The disparity of Health and Medical Education Department in addressing allegations of negligence in Government and private hospitals, many believe, must roll the heads. “However, it seems that our entire system is comfortable with deeming some tragedies more tragic than others,” a netizen wrote.

Sumeer Ahmed (name changed), a resident of Budgam told Greater Kashmir that there are gross lacunae in the healthcare delivery system of J&K, an apathy, immunity and entitlement that have long been allowed to continue. “Ask people who demanded answers to clear violations of medical protocols, evident lapses and gross apathy by staff, they will all agree that their tragedies are brushed off by the system,” he said. Ahmed has been on a quest to seek justice for his deceased family who passed away due to alleged negligence at CHC in the district. Experts feel that laws fail to deliver. As per the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and Section 304-A of the IPC, negligence claims can be filed, however, there have hardly been any tangible results of these claims. The Medical Council of India mandates record-keeping within 72 hours, but enforcement is lax. Independent inquiries are virtually nonexistent.