Doctor, two assistants suspended for declaring alive infant dead

Khalid Umar Malik
21 Jan 2023, 16:28 GMT+10

The Koshi Hospital in Biratnagar has formed a three-member investigation committee led by pediatrician Dr. Prawin Jha to look into an incident in which medical health workers declared a ...
An 18-day-old infant from Bhatigachi in Jahada Rural Municipality in Morang district was brought to the hospital on Wednesday morning after experiencing breathing difficulties.
The trio informed the infant's parents that the child had stopped breathing, her heart had stopped working, and the girl had died.

KATHMANDU, Nepal - The Koshi Hospital in Biratnagar has formed a three-member investigation committee led by pediatrician Dr. Prawin Jha to look into an incident in which medical health workers declared an infant who was alive to be dead.

An 18-day-old infant from Bhatigachi in Jahada Rural Municipality in Morang district was brought to the hospital on Wednesday morning after experiencing breathing difficulties. The girl infant was taken to the hospital's emergency room, where Dr. Akash Yadav and assistant health workers Tika Bhandari and Laxman Majhi pronounced the infant dead.

The trio informed the infant's parents that the child had stopped breathing, her heart had stopped working, and the girl had died.

However, after a while, while the medical personnel was examining the infant, she began to move and cry. This resulted in a physical altercation between the child's family and the medical personnel, including Yadav.

The hospital administration formed a probe committee led by Jha on Thursday, with members including Dr. Suryakant Chaudhary (pediatrician) and Hospital Administration Officer Ram Prasad.

The committee has been given a week to submit the probe report.

Meanwhile, Dr. Yadav and assistant health workers Bhandari and Majhai, who declared the child dead, have been suspended from work until the investigation committee submits its report.

The infant who was declared dead is being treated in the Golden Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.