Medical board to probe renal patient’s death speedily

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 13

The District Health Department has constituted a medical board finally to probe the allegations of medical negligence, resulting in the death of Sahil Sahdev, who had undergone kidney transplantation at a reputed private hospital in the city around six months ago.

The three-member board has been told to investigate the complaint within 15 days.

The deceased, Sahil Sahdev, had undergone the transplantation on February 8 at the Fortis hospital here. Two months after the operation, the patient was again admitted to the hospital because he was undergoing some complications.

Sahil’s father Pardeep Kumar had earlier filed a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner in June, alleging that negligence on part of the hospital staff had resulted in his son’s untimely death.

Pardeep Kumar said, “Kidney transplant patients are required to be treated in safe and fumigated rooms. Instead, we were given a room whose air-conditioner was not working. Later, when we reported the air-conditioning problem to the management, the maintenance staff started repairs of the machine while the patient was still inside the room. Due to the dust that was raised, his health started deteriorating immediately.” He said his son expired within a few days of the incident, as he had caught a serious infection because of the dust.

He said he had been pursuing the matter, so that hospitals should stop playing with the lives of people. “I have lost my son but I want that hospitals should act professionally and none should lose a member of his family just because hospitals do not care,” said Pardeep Kumar. Civil Surgeon Dr Narinder Kaur, said three senior doctors had been included in the board. The chairman of the committee was Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Ramesh Kumar.