Amitabha Saha, victim of medical negligence

A 73-year-old doctor who lost his son due to medical negligence 10 years ago has finally got some solace.

The state consumer disputes redressal forum has asked Mission of Mercy Hospital to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to P.K. Saha, whose son Amitabha fell victim to medical negligence at the clinic.

The hospital authorities said they are planning to move the national consumer redressal commission against the ruling.

Amitabha, the elder son of Saha, had fallen ill in October 1998. The 36-year-old businessman was suffering from pneumonia. He was admitted to Mission of Mercy Hospital (then Assembly of God Church Hospital) around 10.40pm on October 3 with severe respiratory distress.

The doctor on duty in the emergency ward carried out an X-ray, which confirmed that Amitabha was suffering from pneumonia. “The authorities took nearly two hours to take my son to the bed and did not bother to inform the doctor under whom he was admitted,” recalled Saha.

“No doctor attended to him till 3.30am. He was gasping for breath but was not getting adequate oxygen support as the pipeline supplying the gas developed a snag,” he added.

As Amitabha’s condition worsened, his relatives requested the doctor on duty to shift him to the intensive care unit (ICU), but she turned down the plea.

“Surprisingly, another doctor who examined my son around 5am said his lungs were clear,” the central Calcutta resident said.

“In the morning, I once again requested the authorities to shift Amitabha to ICU, but in vain. They also refused to give us the phone number of the doctor under whom he was admitted. Nor did they inform him about my son’s plight themselves,” he added.

When the respiratory distress was at its worst, the hospital staff put him on a portable oxygen cylinder and later shifted him to the ICU. But it was too late and he died around 11.20am on October 4.

Saha lodged an FIR with Park Street police station and then filed a case at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s (CMM) court. The case is still pending.

Acting on the magistrate’s order, the state health department set up a fact-finding team, which held the hospital responsible for Amitabha’s death.

In 2000, Saha had lodged a case with the state consumer redressal commission, seeking an order asking the hospital to pay him a compensation of Rs 19 lakh. “For eight years, I had been appearing in the hearings conducted by the commission. On days the lawyers would not turn up, I argued the case myself,” Saha said.

The commission gave its ruling a few days ago, ordering Mission of Mercy Hospital to pay Saha Rs 5 lakh.

“No compensation can bring back my son. If I get the money, I will spend it on setting up a portable oxygen supply unit at my native village in Malda,” said Saha.