A Hooghly nursing home that allegedly caused the death of a mentally and physically challenged woman in January is now being accused of tormenting her elder sister.

Schoolteacher Ratna Ghosh’s younger sister Swapna, 39, died of septicaemia after an operation at Park Medicare Centre, in Rishra. Ratna has since been unsuccessfully trying to get her sibling’s medical records from the nursing home to file complaints with the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the West Bengal Human Rights Commission.

Park Medicare claims to have released the papers last month after receiving a letter from the chief medical officer of health, Hooghly, but Ratna hasn’t received any.

“I intend to write to the medical council and the rights commission, citing negligence in treatment as the reason for the death of my sister,” Ratna told Metro on Monday.

She complained about Park Medicare’s delaying tactic to the director of health and family welfare in April. Two NGOs, People for Better Treatment and Janaswastha Swadhikar Mancha, are supporting her campaign for justice.

Ratna believes the nursing home is reluctant to release her sister’s medical records because it is guilty. Section 1.3.2 of the MCI code of conduct states that it is mandatory for all medical practitioners and institutions to issue the records “within 72 hours of application” to the patient, an authorised attendant or the authorities.

“Swapna’s blood sugar count was 464 at 11am on January 4, when she was admitted to Park Medicare. It could not have come down to 163 by 3.30pm the same day, when a nurse told me they wanted to operate on her (for a sebaceous cyst on her waist). I asked them to wait and went to look for the doctor who was treating her, but couldn’t find him. By the time I came back, they had taken her inside the OT and conducted the surgery without my signed consent,” Ratna said.

Swapna was shifted to Paramount Nursing Home, in Serampore, the next day and put on ventilation. Paramount released her at 11pm on January 9, saying she required more advanced treatment. She died on January 18 at Mission of Mercy Hospital.

The director of Park Medicare, D.P. Agarwal, blamed an epileptic fit after surgery for the complications leading to Swapna’s death. “Her blood sugar level had been controlled before surgery, which was successful, too. She had an epileptic fit after the operation and we asked her family to shift her to Paramount Nursing Home because we did not have an ICCU.”