Student death: Doctor blames father for early discharge

KOLLAM: Dr. S. Jayakumaran, neuro-surgeon with Benziger hospital, has blamed an anonymous 'child protection council' for the tragic death of student Gauri Neha who jumped from the Trinity Lyceum school building on Friday.  The family demanded to shift the victim from the hospital after they were misguided by the child protection council, said the doctor who attended on her. "The girl's father, who was distressed, developed suspicion over the treatment after he was briefed by the council workers. He forcibly entered the ICU to stand near his daughter. Other persons also started entering the unit and they even did not permit the staff to infuse blood into her body," he said.

The girl was brought to the hospital by 2.15 p.m. on Friday and diagnosed with internal bleeding in her head in the scan report.  She was admitted to the ICU and the doctors also took a FAST scan of her abdomen as the blood pressure was comparatively low. In the report it was shown that her kidney, liver, and spleen were intact and there existed no traces of internal bleeding in her stomach. A portable X-ray showed no bleeding or air cavities inside her chest, but had fractures of her backbone.

"Doctors administered pain killers and medicines to maintain her blood pressure. As the blood pressure dipped further, we planned to take a CT scan of chest and abdomen.  “As she did not require immediate surgery, I left the place for attending other patients. By the time we had done these, the relatives developed suspicion over our treatment and were adamant on shifting her," he said.

"The girl's father spoke to me emotionally over phone saying they believed in me as a doctor but had some 'other reasons' to shift her. He ignored my suggestion that spending at least one-and-a-half hours in an ambulance would be risky for her. “The girl was administered dopamine to maintain her blood pressure and shifted to another hospital in an ambulance," the doctor said.