Pune: A written complaint seeking criminal prosecution of directors of two private hospitals - Jehangir Hospital and Ruby Hall Clinic - was filed on Thursday with police by the family of Rida Shaikh.
Rida is the first fatality of H1N1 Influenza virus (swine flu) in India.
The complaint, which alleges medical negligence on part of the hospitals, has also named one Dr Sanjay Agarwal, a panel doctor in Jehangir Hospital where 14-year-old Rida succumbed to the deadly infection on August 3.
"Police will investigate the matter and register an FIR against the accused," Asif Lampwala, lawyer representing Rida's aunt Ayesha Shaikh in Pune.
"We will also filed separate cases in consumer court for compensation and apology. We have basically said death by negligence is the main issue," he alleged.
The lawyer claimed that joint director, health, government of Maharashtra too had filed a complaint against the two private hospitals for alleged medical negligence that led to the death of Rida, a class nine student of St Anne's school in Pune.
Lampwala, who was accompanied by Ayesha Shaikh, filed the complaint at Bund Garden police station under which jurisdiction the two hospitals fall.
The deceased girl's family had alleged that Rida's blood samples were sent by Jehangir Hospital to Ruby Hall Clinic for H1N1 testing when it should have referred it to designated National Institute of Virology (NIV).
Ruby clinic sent test result as negative for the virus within an hour employing rapid testing methods which resulted in delay in proper treatment giving proper treatment to the girl, the family claimed.
The samples subsequently tested positive for H1N1 infection at the second test carried out at NIV.
The lawyer said the complaint had also named Dr Sanjay Agarwal under whose supervision Reeda was treated for pneumonia following a "wrong diagnosis" at Jehangir hospital.
Both Jehangir and Ruby Hall Clinic have denied the allegations made by Rida's family.
Jehangir Hospital had contended that the girl had shown 'non-specific' symptoms at the time of admission on July 27 and when H1N1 infection was confirmed at NIV on July 31, the hospital had alerted health authorities putting the patient on the prescribed anti-viral Tamiflu tablet.
A spokesman of Ruby Hall Clinic refuted the charge that it came out with wrong test result that led to the girl's death.
Dr Pervez Grant, medical director of the hospital said the rapid test that came negative was done when the disease was possibly at a primary stage.
"We had tagged the report recommending further confirmatory testing for H1N1 at NIV," he said, adding the hospital could not be blamed for a false test report.
Comments
0 comment