Hyderabad: The Telangana government has initiated disciplinary action against 13 officials for the death of four women after undergoing Double Puncture Laparoscopy (DPL) at a family planning surgery camp in Rangareddy district last month.
Based on the report of the inquiry committee, a criminal case has been booked against Joel Sunil Kumar, who performed the DPL at the camp conducted at Ibrahimpatnam on August 25.
The state government said on Saturday that action has been initiated against 13 officials including District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) and District Coordinator of Hospital Service (DCHS)
DMHO Swarajya Laxmi and DCHS Jhansi Laxmi have been transferred. Action has also been taken against DPL camp officer Nagajyothi, deputy civil surgeon Geeta, head nurse Chandrakala, three doctors of primary health centres and three supervisors.
A mobile team of health officials including two surgeons conducted DPL on 34 women at the female sterilisation campAat Civil Hospital in Ibrahimpatnam.
Four of them later complained of acute gastroenteritis and approached private hospitals for treatment. All the four women succumbed while undergoing treatment.
Health authorities later shifted remaining women to Apollo Hospital and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad for treatment for possible complications. They were all discharged after treatment.
The government later ordered an inquiryAby Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao.
The inquiry committee has recommended guidelines to prevent similar incidents in future. It recommended that a hospital should not conduct more than 30 Family Planning operations in a day.
It said the family planning operations should be conducted as part of services provided at the hospital. Hospital superintendents who are also chairpersons concerned hospital infection control committees should hold weekly review meetings on infection prevention and infection control.
Infection control officers and nurses in teaching hospitals and TVVP hospitals should be provided training on advanced infection control measures at NIMS from time to time.
Director of Medical Education and TVPP Commissioner should monitor compliance with infection control guidelines and should especially focus on operations theatres and intensive care units.
The committee recommended that those who undergo operations should be kept under observation for 24 hours and after their discharge from hospital, the supervisor concerned should check about her condition once in 24 hours and twice in the subsequent week.
The panel also recommended that medical office concerned of PHC should visit those who undergo operations and examine them for two days
State joint director should conduct a meeting once in three months with FP officers, surgeons and other staff to review sterilization, it said.
—IANS