Bathinda, July 4
Rani, a 24-year-old mother of three small children allegedly died a few hours after a tubectomy operation was performed on her in the Civil Hospital, Raman Mandi, 40 km from here, yesterday afternoon. She was not given post-operative care and sent home an hour after the operation.

This is second death in the past about one year. Earlier, a death due to tubectomy had taken place in the Guru Nanak Pura locality of this city in May 2001. A case in that connection was registered against a lady doctor then posted in the local Civil Hospital.

Rani, who was operated upon at 3 pm in the Civil Hospital by Dr G.S. Sidhu, was sent home on donkey cart at 4 pm despite the clear cut instructions from the state health authorities that a patient, who had been operated upon for tubectomy, should be kept for atleast three hours after the operation in the hospital.

Rani, who developed complications was not given any post-operative care by the doctors and para-medical staff posted in the Civil Hospital. The kin of deceased had time and again pleaded with the doctor and other employees to treat Rani, whose condition had been deteriorating, alleged her elder sister.

She added that Rani was taken to the Civil Hospital again on the donkey cart at 10 pm and they were told by the doctors and other para-medical staff to shift her to the Civil Hospital, Bathinda. Rani died at 2.15 am in the hospital.

When this correspondent went to the local Civil Hospital where the husband of Rani, Mr Dev Raj, a brick kiln labourer, had reached from Jaito along with his kin and friends, the hospital authorities were trying to reach a compromise between the aggrieved persons and the staff of the Civil Hospital, Raman Mandi.

Dr S.K. Goyal, Civil Surgeon, when contacted, said he had constituted a two-member committee, comprising Dr Avtar Singh Sidhu, District Health Officer and a District Family Planning Officer to probe into incident. He added that swap culture of operating theatre of the Civil Hospital, Raman Mandi, had been taken and would be sent for examination at Faridkot Medical College and private laboratories.

Dr Goyal said he would also inform about the incident to Deputy Commissioner and would conduct the proceedings as per the directions given by him. He added that he had been inquiring about the fact that why the patient was not given post-operative care and not shifted to the hospital in the ambulance.

Though information gathered by the TNS revealed that all other five patients, who were also operated upon for tubectomy, were running temperature. Dr Goyal pointed out that during investigation it was found that only one patient was running temperature and she had been given proper treatment.

Information further revealed that actually Dr R.P. Singh was to perform the tubectomy operation by the same was done by Dr G.S. Sidhu. The post-operative care could not be given to Rani due to negligence of medical staff deployed after the normal working hours.

Kin of Rani were persuaded to reach a compromise with medical staff of the Civil Hospital by noon and they took away the body without conducting a post-mortem.

Dr Goyal said post-mortem could not be conducted as no kin of the deceased had lodged a complaint against any doctor.