Mumbai: Man alleges wife died of medical negligence

Dnyaneshwar Gaikwad with wife Ashwini and their child

After a recent allegation against the Trauma Hospital at Jogeshwari where doctors told the kin of a boy bitten by a snake to take him to Cooper Hospital, another accusation of medical negligence has surfaced.

The husband of a patient, who claimed she was not admitted despite his pleas due to her ill health, has alleged that she died the next day due to medical negligence by Jogeshwari's Trauma Hospital. He has now filed a complaint against the hospital with BMC's health authorities.

The cause of death was unclear in the post-mortem done at Siddharth Hospital, so it has sent the patient's samples for forensic analysis.

The incident

The incident took place on August 26 when Dnyaneshwar Gaikwad rushed his wife, Ashwini, 29, to Trauma Hospital after she complained of severe dizziness, weakness, and palpitations. However, the Goregaon resident claimed that the doctors there refused to admit her despite his repeated pleas. "She was administered some injections and saline, and then we were asked to leave," he told mid-day.

In a complaint letter addressed to Additional Municipal Commissioner Dr Sudhakar Shinde, on September 8, Gaikwad has named the on-duty chief medical official, Dr Raghavendra Naik, and alleged that he failed to properly examine the patient, resulting in her eventual death the next day. Gaikwad stated in the letter that the family continued until about 6 am to persistently plead with the doctors to admit Ashwini. After that Gaikwad said they took her home but she collapsed around 10 am. She was taken to the Trauma Hospital again where she was declared brought dead.

He said he kept telling the doctors to admit her but they allegedly told him she was okay. Gaikwad has claimed that he was told to take her home on his responsibility, but he was also asked to sign consent papers for non-admission (DAMA) without a proper explanation.

"No preliminary blood tests like CBC, which are available in the hospital, were conducted. Additionally, chest X-rays and ECGs were also not done," Gaikwad mentioned in the letter to Dr Shinde.

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AMC speak

Speaking to mid-day, Dr Shinde said that the complaint has been forwarded to the Cooper Hospital dean. "We cannot straightaway conclude someone is wrong as the person's career is at stake. There will be proper attention given to the matter and in case anyone is found guilty, they will not be spared," Dr Shinde said.
Cooper Hospital Dean Shailesh Mohite was unavailable for comment.

Trauma Hospital doctors have defended themselves saying certain decisions are made based on the seriousness of cases. "If patients require tests that are unavailable at the hospital, they ask us which private lab can perform them at the earliest, and we guide them accordingly," said Dr Himanshu Bhamre from Trauma Hospital.

Dr Naik, who has been mentioned in the complaint, stated that he is facing an internal inquiry at the hospital. "The patient was explained the implications of DAMA and chose to be discharged accordingly," he said, adding that former disgruntled employees might be instigating patients to file complaints.

mid-day had reported on the snakebite victim who was rushed to Trauma Hospital and not admitted there but sent to Cooper Hospital. The hospital at that point had said that the patient was not admitted due to the unavailability of ICU beds.

Aug 26
Day the incident happened