Ahmadabad: A six-month-old girl Parents alleged that a nurse at a city-based hospital snipped off the baby’s left thumb while removing a bandage and demanded action against the staff and the hospital management.
According to Farheena Banu (19) and Mohammed Mohsin (23), the incident occurred on June 2 night when their child, Mahinoor, was being discharged from the paediatric ward of VS Hospital where she was treated for pneumonia. Mahinoor is the only child of the couple who lives at Barrel Market near Chandola lake in Ahmadabad. Mohsin works in a sewing factory while Farheena is a home-maker.
“We got Maahinoor admitted to VS Hospital on May 29 when she had high fever and cough. She was under observation for five days when she had a needle fixed in her left hand. On June 2 at 8pm, when she was being discharged, a nurse was removing her bandage with a scissor when she snipped off the upper part of the child’s thumb that fell on the floor,” said Shamim Banu, Maahinoor’s grandmother.
The family filed a complaint with the Ellis Bridge police station but the police are yet to lodge a FIR.
RK Shah, medical officer of Trauma Centre, VS Hospital, said, “An inquiry has been ordered and a committee has been set up to look into the matter. The child was suffering from pneumonia and the doctor had inserted a needle in her left hand and bandaged both hands so that the child doesn’t remove the needle on her own. Only a part of her left thumb was accidentally snipped off. We conducted a surgery on the same day and the wound will heal in due course of time.”
Ahmadabad Mayor Bijal Patel, who is also the chairperson of VS Hospital, said, “The incident occurred while taking out the IV needle from the baby’s wrist, on June 2 and everyone, including the doctor and the parents were aware of it. No complaint was raised then. You can imagine how small a six-month-old baby is. The Opposition has been looking for issues to create a controversy, which is why it has suddenly become an issue three days later. A complaint has been made by the parents and we are looking into it. I’ve asked the medical superintendent to conduct an investigation. We will take strict action against those found negligent.”