Man dies 40 days after gallbladder operation, family alleges negligence

The kin of an old man who died around forty days after a gallbladder removal surgery (cholecystectomy) have accused doctors of a private hospital of negligence.

The family and its supporters staged a dharna in front of the hospital today, demanding action against the doctors who operated on the deceased.

The dharna was lifted after the police led by DSP Samrala Tirlochan Singh assured the protesting family that action on their complaint would be taken on the basis of the post-mortem report. The autopsy is to be conducted by a board of doctors.

Harash of Samrala alleged that doctors at a private hospital on Machhiwara Road had allegedly caused the death of his father Sohan Singh, who was admitted at the healthcare centre for the removal of the gallbladder in the last week of October.

Dr Gurmukh Singh, however, denied the charges levelled by the protesters against the hospital and maintained that the patients had remained hospitalised only for five days following the surgery. “Having observed some leakage from sutures, we had offered to undertake the required procedure, but the family insisted on getting further treatment at a multispeciality hospital in Ludhiana where the patient remained hospitalised for 34 days,” Dr Gurmukh told the police.

Members of the family, accompanied by their supporters, raised slogans against the doctors accused during the dharna and blocked the traffic on the Khanna-Nawanshahr Road.

DSP Samrala Tirlochan Singh persuaded the protesters to lift the dharna, assuring that action would be taken based on the autopsy report.