Opposition seeks murder charges on health minister, officials, doctors

HYDERABAD: Hospital-acquired infections continue to cause havoc in Telangana government’s hospitals despite the so-called lessons learnt after the death of four women who underwent family planning operations in Ibrahimpatnam in August last.

The deaths of two women who died on January 12 after delivering their babies
at the Malakpet Government Maternity Hospital have yet again proved that the
state health department setting up hospital infection control committees after the Ibrahimpatnam deaths have remained as unproductive as its promises that Ibrahimpatnam-like incidents will not recur.

Meanwhile, amidst the ongoing crisis of women who underwent surgeries at the
Malakpet hospital currently recuperating at the Nizams Institute of Medical
Sciences, and two of them in critical condition, there are demands that the highest in the health department, starting with the health minister T. Harish Rao, top officials, and doctors at the hospitals, be booked under murder charges. “The responsibility ultimately lies with the person on top, who is the health minister. He, along with top officials of the department, and the doctors at the hospital must face murder charges. Why cannot there be such action when laws have been framed to book anyone who even protests against poor service at government hospitals?” Telangana Congress president A. Revanth Reddy said.

“This is a failure at every level in the healthcare system and the government. Whenever something like this occurs, the Chief Minister should have called for a review with his health minister and officials. That has not happened. The minister himself is busy with BRS party work in Khammam and is not taking even the minimum responsibility,” Revanth Reddy said.

The BJP state secretary Dr S. Prakash Reddy said, “the moral responsibility
for the two deaths, and the illness suffered by others who underwent surgeries at the Malakpet hospital lies with the health minister. What is the use of the minister talking about setting up new medical colleges when basic requirements at government hospitals cannot be met? And why are there no strict guidelines imposed on the private hospitals for their operation theatres in government hospitals?” he asked.

Even Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundarajan, a doctor herself, expressing concern
at the two deaths, told media at the Raj Bhavan on Sunday that as a gynaecologist, she had several doubts and said there was a need to improve
facilities at hospitals.

Earlier, Union minister G. Kishan Reddy also expressed concern and said that
the state government must ensure the safety of patients at hospitals, and
ensure such incidents do not happen.

Health department sources said on Monday that in all, 19 patients from the
Malakpet hospital – including nine who underwent surgeries on January 11 -
were admitted to NIMS following the deaths of the two women, Sri Vennela,
and Tanniru Shivani. Two of those who were operated upon on January 11,
developed sepsis shock and were put on continuous dialysis, the sources
said, adding that these two women are expected to remain on intermittent
dialysis until they become fully stable. Six others were also found infected
and they, with the rest of the patients, were administered antibiotics to
control the infections, the sources said. Ten others who were admitted to
NIMS were patients at the Malakpet hospital who underwent surgeries on
January 12 and were shifted to NIMS as a precautionary measure, the sources
said.

Eleven of these 19 patients were discharged on Monday as their condition was
stable and they were without any infection. Of the eight still in the hospital, five had undergone cesareans, two underwent tubectomies for family planning, and one was a general surgery patient, all at the Malakpet hospital on January 11 and 12. A couple of these patients have some fever, but all of them are expected to recover, doctors said. Though some of the patients at NIMS were advised they could go home, they chose to stay at the hospital until full recovery and removal of sutures, the department sources said.