Telangana: Toll in botched up family planning surgery up at 4

HYDERABAD: With the toll going up to four in the botched family planning operations at the Government Civil Hospital, Ibrahimpatnam, the health department on Tuesday said that it had launched a “thoroughly transparent investigation” in the incident. The four women aged between 22 and 32 years had undergone family planning operations on August 24 and died on Sunday and Monday, sending the state health officials scurrying to initiate damage control
measures.

With protests erupting over the deaths, the government announced Rs. 5 lakh as immediate ex gratia to the four bereaved families. The families will be given a 2-bedroom house each, and education for the children will be ensured in government-run social welfare schools, said Director of Public Health and Family Welfare Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, said at a hurriedly called press conference.

The licence of the doctor who performed the surgeries has been cancelled temporarily while the hospital superintendent has been suspended, he said.

The doctor was said to be very experienced and a specialist in FP surgeries.

The probe will find out what led to the deaths, he added.

Dr Srinivasa Rao also announced that he would be heading a team to probe the events, including the ‘Single Day Sterilisations’ programme held at the hospital, and the reasons that led to the death of the four women. “A fully transparent probe will be held and we will prepare the report in a week,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.

Thirty-four women underwent what he described as a ‘double puncture
laparoscopy’ for performing tubectomies at the hospital. Every
post-operative care was taken, guidelines were followed, and the patients were counselled, given medications and sent home after recovery, Dr Srinivasa Rao said. But, two days later, on August 26 and 27, four of the women developed gastroenteritis and went to private hospitals for treatment.

“Four of the women unfortunately lost their lives. We pray for them and extend condolences to their families,” Dr Srinivasa Rao said.

He said, “As soon as this came to our notice, we screened the rest of the 30
women for their condition. Of them, seven were shifted to a private hospital
in the city, while three were brought to NIMS. We pressed into service
special teams. We want to save the lives of all these women.”

He said the fixed day sterilisations are conducted once a month at a
designated health facility, with eligible people being counselled and
educated about permanent family planning methods.