The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has taken strong action against a private hospital in Sonarpur, which is situated on the southern outskirts of the city. The hospital has been ordered to compensate the family of a three-year-old boy for Rs 8 lakh after it was alleged that the child's hand suffered significant muscle damage as a result of negligent treatment.
The compensation order was released on Thursday by the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, which is presided over by retired judge Ashim Banerjee. According to Banerjee, the boy's fingers have remained numb as a result of the neglect, and there is no guarantee that his hand will ever regain its normal function.
In this case, the child broke his hand and was brought to Atlas Health Point in Sonarpur. A synthetic cast was fitted by an orthopedic doctor under local anesthesia. At 7:30 p.m., the treatment was completed, but the kid suddenly complained of severe pain. The child would not go to sleep at night and would not stop crying aloud. However, two resident medical officers made numerous unsuccessful attempts to get in touch with the orthopedic surgeon during the course of the night when complications arose.
"The child remained without proper treatment for approximately 24 hours. It was not until around 4:45 pm the next day that the orthopedic surgeon finally attended to the boy. By the time the cast was removed, the damage was already severe. The muscles were significantly damaged, nearing the stage of gangrene," Banerjee observed.
After treatment was postponed, the kid was taken to Apollo Hospitals in Chennai to undergo surgery. Even though things have improved, he still gets numbness in his fingers and goes to physical therapy. After reviewing the case, an expert concluded that the kid should have been treated conservatively rather than with the synthetic cast, as mentioned by the bench.
"The critical factor was the 24-hour delay in treatment. When the child kept on crying at night if the doctor had removed the plaster, the situation might have not gotten so out of hand." Banerjee emphasized.
He further mentioned that the boy was crying uncontrollably, and the hospital staff had administered a compress but had neglected to take off the cast. "If they couldn't reach the treating orthopedic surgeon, they should have sought another orthopedic specialist."
The boy's family suffered travel expenditures to Chennai for his treatment, and the hospital was ordered to pay ₹3 lakh in addition to ₹5 lakh for their negligence.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/MSM)