Mukunda Timsina, 13, of Sijuwa-8 Morang who was admitted to the hospital Thursday with pain in the right knee, was declared dead with lungs infection as the cause of death by the doctors at 5:30 Monday evening. Doctors had surgically removed pus in his knee Sunday. [break]
The hospital conceded lapses in treatment and said the pus from the knee moved through nerves to lungs causing the infection. The hospital remained tense throughout Monday night as the boy´s family attributed the death to doctor´s negligence. Dr Prakash Sitaula was involved in the patient´s treatment.
Father Krishna said his son was normal and could walk on his own before being taken to the operation theater. "I myself had walked him to the operation theater. But he had to be kept on a ventilator immediately after the operation and they didn´t even allow us family members to see him," father Krishna claimed.
The ninth grader at Saraswati Higher Secondary School in Sijuwa was taken to the operation theater at 10 in the morning for surgery that was scheduled to last for 30 minutes. But he was directly taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after three hours in the operation theater and put on a ventilator.
The doctors informed the family that the boy cannot be saved 12 hours after being kept on ventilator. "They had told us that it was a minor operation that could have been done even at a district hospital. We have been devastated by his sudden death," Krishna said.
"They said he had to be kept on a ventilator after completing the operation claiming the infection had spread to the whole body and even made us buy medicines worth Rs 80,000. But they killed our son instead of curing his minor ailment," he accused.
Orthopedist at Koshi Zonal Hospital Dr Ramesh Basnet said death in such an operation was unfortunate. "There must have been some mistake in the operation. We can explain how the pus reached the lungs during the operation only after thorough examination," Dr Basnet stated.
The hospital has issued a written apology admitting negligence and serious mistake in the operation and vowed to not repeat such mistakes in the future. But the family is demanding action against the guilty doctor and is planning to take legal action against the hospital.
"The hospital has claimed a life under a false pretext saying that operation on leg led to lungs infection. The guilty doctor should be stringently punished," demanded the deceased´s uncle Som Timsina.
Doctor assaults journos
Media persons who reached the hospital in the evening to collect news about the death of Timsina were attacked by doctors on the the hospital premises.
Dr Prakash Sitaula kicked Pratik Shrestha of Avenues Television and smashed his camera while Abijal Bista of Sagarmatha Television was also beaten up at around 10 in the night. Koushal Niraula of Tarai Television was chased around the hospital. "The doctor smashed my camera scolding me for filming the incident," Bista claimed.
The journalists have lodged a complaint with the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ), Mornag demanding action against the guilty doctor.
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