A family from Aali Kadal area of Downtown here accused a private hospital here of medical negligence and staged protest to seek action.
Family members of 2-year old, Zikra Farooq, have alleged that an overdose of Anaesthesia by medicos of a private hospital at Qamarwari area here has damaged her brain when she was undergoing treatment there a year ago.
Farooq Ahmad Bhat, father of the girl said: “My daughter, who was only 14-month-old then, was taken to hospital for eye treatment. After we approached the doctors, they gave her some exercises which did not work. Later we were being told by the doctors that she would be given a drug through injection for which local anaesthesia was mandatory.”
“The doctors at that time claimed that the procedure would take not more than 20 minutes. Our daughter was taken for the treatment where an overdose of anaesthesia was given to her inside the theatre. When I carried my daughter in the lap, I found her overweight following which the doctors claimed she was alright and asked us to take her home,” Bhat said.
“After raising constant doubts with the doctors, the hospital authorities then agreed to take her to SKIMS Soura for a checkup. Soon after we took her to SKIMS, the baby girl was admitted to the ICU as her condition was worsening. Later, we learnt that the baby was given an overdose of anesthesia as she has not responded to the first anesthesia given to her,” he added.
He said after a month in ICU at SKIMS, she was later referred to Delhi and since last year the family has been treating the baby girl there.
“Every single visit to the hospital is costing us unaffordable amount due to negligence by the doctors of the private hospital in Srinagar,” said Soliyah, mother of the baby girl.
She said that the baby girl is presently two years old and is not able to walk or move. “Instead of accepting the fault, the doctors are challenging us to file a case against the hospital authorities,” she added.
“Initially they helped us with expenses but later stopped that as well,” she further added.
Meanwhile when contacted, a senior official at the private hospital at Qamarwari refuted the allegations. “The process of syringing and probing was to be carried in eye of the patient for which she was given anaesthesia, which was mandatory for her as the baby cannot bear the procedure.”
“We had already got the consent from the parents before giving anaesthesia to the child. The consent paper has mentioned that the anaesthesia sometimes claims life of the patient. Till now the hospital has provided financial as well as medical assistance of over Rs 1 lakh to the family on humanitarian grounds. We are concerned about the patient too and are constantly asking the family to follow the proper procedure so that they can get further assistance for the treatment of their child. Anaesthesia is a dose and there is nothing like negligence in the matter,” the official added.