Coimbatore : In the recent times, public outcry on incidents that have occurred out of 'carelessness' at Government Hospitals in the State are on a rise. One such case is the allegation that a two-year old child had been given HIV-infected blood at Coimbatore GH.
Coimbatore : In the recent times, public outcry on incidents that have occurred out of 'carelessness' at Government Hospitals in the State are on a rise. One such case is the allegation that a two-year old child had been given HIV-infected blood at Coimbatore GH.
Vishwanathan (28) and Chitra (25) are residents of Manapparai taluk in Trichy. Chithra (25) had given birth to twins on February 6, 2017 at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital in Trichy. Both newborns were said to be underweight for which they were treated at the hospital for nearly 32 days.
Meanwhile, on July 11, 2018, the girl baby Manju (name changed) had fallen ill unexpectedly, following which the child was admitted to the Tirupur Government Hospital. The doctors diagnosed a heart condition and refered the child to Coimbatore GH.
On the same day, the child was brought to CMCH in Coimbatore for treatment. On the very next day, July 12, the child was reportedly given blood by the doctors, citing weakness But, it is alleged that the doctors stopped the blood transfusion process midway and apparently disconnected the apparatus and disposed the tubes into a bin.
On seeing this, the father of the child, Vishawanathan apparently grew suspicious and inquired with the doctors for which they had reportedly replied that they had mistakenly given the blood of an elderly person to the child.
The very next day, on July 13 the child was discharged from Coimbatore GH.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of this year, small sized lumps had developed in a few areas in the body of the child, following which she was admitted to the Coimbatore Government Hospital on February 6, 2019.
Following this, the doctors tested the child on February 8 and confirmed that the child was infected with HIV and tested the parents and the other twin boys baby for HIV. However, the report confirmed that their blood had no trace of HIV.
Shattered by the news, the parents could not convince themselves with the explanation give by the doctors who said that the HIV infected blood could have been injected else where and not here.
Meanwhile, the parents have approached 'Makkal Kankaanippagam’ who have alleged that based on the information given by the parents, it is evident that mistake is on the part of the doctors at Coimbatore GH.
Speaking on this, the father of the child Vishwanathan said, "The incident took place when I was with my child. A doctor grabbed the blood bottle midway and threw it into the garbage. When I inquired, the doctor said that the blood of an elderly person was mistakenly given to the child. Though, I grew suspicious at that time, I did not think that it would be HIV infected blood. The hospital management should take sole responsibility for this."
The father is broken-hearted and pleading for the doctors to treat his child and restore her to normalcy.
Speaking on this, Asirvadham, one of the organisers of Makkal Kankaanippagam said, "It was confirmed that the child did not have any traces of HIV at the time of birth. How is possible that only one among the two children can be affected by HIV? The child was found to have HIV only after the blood was given to her in Coimbatore Government Hospital in 2018.
The child was admitted on July 11, 2018 for a heart problem but she was discharged on the next day itself. Is three days enough to treat a child with heart disease? This confirms that the doctors have attempted to hide their mistake," he noted.
"When we approached the hospital authorities for an explanation regarding this, they replied that the child was treated at various hospitals and the mistake could have occurred in any one of the hospitals. But the parents of the child say that after the babies were delivered at the Trichy Government Hospital, the child was not admitted anywhere apart from Tirupur and Coimbatore GH" he further added.
"If the child has been affected by HIV during treatment in any other hospital other than the Government Hospital, it should have been identified during the test in Coimbatore Government Hospital on July 11, 2018. But it was identified only during the second test on February 6, 2019. Based on the inquiry done by Makkal Kankaanippagam, it was found that the child was affected by HIV only after it was given blood in Coimbatore GH ," said Asirvadham.
He also stressed that a CBI investigation is required on this negligence.
Refuting the allegations, CMCH Dean, Ashokan said, "No negligence has happened on our part. Since the child has been treated in a few other hospitals, the mistake could have occurred in any of these hospitals. The complaint was brought to our notice only yesterday, following which he are cross checking the documents and medical reports".
In a similar incident of negligence reported in December 2018, a 24-year-old pregnant woman in Tamil Nadu turned HIV, after she was given HIV-infected blood during a transfusion at a government hospital in Virudhunagar district.