Patient’s Death: House surgeons freshers with no clinical experience: SMO

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, September 13

Senior Medical Officer (SMO) in-charge of the Civil Hospital here, Dr Mandeep Sidhu, has said house surgeons deputed on duty were newly appointed fresh graduates with no clinical experience.

In her statement before the high-level inquiry committee, she blamed staff shortage, untrained doctors, and heavy patient load for the “serious, additional, and supervisory lapses” at the hospital.

The SMO was found lacking in control and supervision over staff and management during the inquiry into the death of an unidentified patient at the Civil Hospital on August 27, which was conducted by a panel, headed by the Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik as its chairperson and comprising Additional Deputy Commissioner Gautam Jain, SDM (East) Gursimran Singh Dhillon, and Civil Surgeon Hatinder Kaur as members.

The inquiry, ordered by Chief Secretary Anurag Verma while taking cognisance of the matter on August 29, had already reported additional/ supervisory lapses on the part of five other doctors and lack of better management/ vigilance on the part of another doctor on duty at the hospital on the fateful day.

“I am currently working with shortage of staff and running the hospital with best of my efficiency and skill,” the SMO said in her statement, a copy of which is with The Tribune.

She submitted that the house surgeons were newly appointed fresh graduates with no clinical experience and most of them were doing their first job here.

“Efforts are being made to optimally use their services for the betterment of patients but they are still not well trained to coordinate things in wards with heavy patient load,” Dr Sidhu deposed.

The SMO submitted that the house surgeons were still poor in record keeping and making notes on files. “They have been warned many times to coordinate well among themselves and with the staff,” she claimed while stating that they need to inform before changing their duties, if required.

Apprising the probe panel that the house surgeons were newcomers and were here for six months only, Dr Sidhu said to improvise the irregularities made by the house surgeons, nodal officers had been changed and consultants were regularly making rounds in the patient wards to ensure proper monitoring and training the inexperienced surgeons.

Admitting that there are lapses on the part of the hospital staffers, the SMO said, “There was a lapse on the part of the Class IV employee, who shifted the patient to the unidentified ward, following which the patient was made to lie unattended on the stretcher.”

“Vitals at the time of shifting the patient were not noted in the file,” she confirmed while stating that since the unknown patient ward capacity was of eight patients, which was full at that time, the patient was kept on the stretcher.

Also reporting lapse on the part of staff nurse, Dr Sidhu said the staff nurse on evening duty left the premises of the hospital before the scheduled time without following the proper procedure as the handing over of notes to the next staff nurse to take her place on duty was mandatory.

Further confirming lapse at the level of the house surgeon, the SMO endorsed the inquiry committee’s findings that nobody was present in the ward due to the laxity in getting the leave sanctioned and getting replacement in duty.

“Lapse was also at the level of the emergency medical officer (EMO) as the patient was shifted to the ward during the EMO, Dr Lovepreet’s, duty period without verifying the vacant bed position in the male ward,” Dr Sidhu told the probe panel, adding that the EMO was ignorant about the arrival of the unknown patient in the emergency ward, absence of the house surgeon in the male ward and shifting of the patient as well.

Chief Secy for strictest action

Taking a suo motu cognisance of the incident, Chief Secretary Anurag Verma had asked for strictest action against all those found wanting. “In this case, a precious human life has been lost. Hence, you are directed to take strictest possible action against all concerned on whose part lapses/ negligence have been found in the inquiry report. It shall include the doctors/ nurses and other employees,” the CS had written to Principal Secretary Health (PSH) Vivek Pratap Singh on September 6.

The CS had also asked the PSH to personally visit the Civil Hospital and issue clear-cut guidelines/ standard operating procedures after analysing the complete set up, so that no such incident re-occur in future at that hospital or any other government hospitals. “It should be done by September 13,” Verma had ordered.

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