Family members of Jyotsna Rani Sundaray at the hospital in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 7: The family members of a 23-year-old woman today accused the the doctors of a private hospital of negligence for her death.

The deceased, who had met with a road accident, was under treatment at the hospital since December 21. She had given birth to a male child in the hospital on January 4. Police at the Nayapalli station have registered a case regarding her death.

The family members of Jyotsna Rani Sundaray alleged that the doctors had told them on Friday morning that she was improving and had prescribed a few more medicines. After they bought the medicine, the doctors informed them about her death.

Jyotsna was admitted to the private hospital in the capital on December 24 after she had sustained injuries on her head in an accident at her in-law’s village in Goda in Khurda district. She was first admitted to the government hospital in Khurda and was later referred to Bhubaneswar.

“The ambulance driver, who brought us to the the capital, told us to admit her in this hospital. Little did we know that my sister would die here due to the negligence of the doctors,” said Jyotsna's brother Santosh Mansingh.

Her husband Jatadhari said that his wife was pregnant and the doctors had assured them that they would not perform any surgery on her head. “But after five days, they told us that an operation is needed. They alleged that initially the doctors had also told them that the child had died inside the mother’s womb. After the operation she gave birth to a son,” said Jatadhari.

The family members alleged that the hospital staff had kept them in dark about her condition all along as she was in the intensive care unit and no one was allowed to meet her.

When the family members were informed about the death, local people had gathered outside the hospital.

Sensing trouble, the hospital authorities had informed the police which pacified the agitating family members. Following a formal complaint, the police have registered a case and sent the dead body to Capital Hospital for post-mortem.

The hospital authorities, however, rubbished the allegations made by the patient’s family, saying that the patient had been provided “the best possible treatment in the hospital. The woman was admitted with head injury. She had also developed problems in her lungs. We had been informing the family members about her condition which had been worsening. It was wrong on the part of the family members to say that we had neglected her,” said Sandip Prusty, a staff of the hospital.