Botched up surgery at YCMH: State govt directs PCMC to probe doctors

PCMC heath officials said the state government has taken serious note of the lapse as it was not the first time YCMH functioning has been reported to the government.

Written by Manoj Dattatrye More

Pune | Updated: April 25, 2016 03:33 AM IST

5 min read

Three patients being carried on a stretcher at the PCMC-run YCM hospital which is under scanner over a botched-up operation in January. Express photo

THE Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has initiated a departmental enquiry against four doctors and two sister in-charges in connection with a botched up surgery in which a 30-year-old patient lost his leg. PCMC action follows directives by the state government and also by the State Human Rights Commission which has taken suo motu action on the Newsline report published in January.

PCMC health chief Dr K Anil Roy Sunday said the state government had directed the PCMC to initiate a probe in the matter and accordingly, they have ordered a departmental enquiry against YCMH chief Dr Manoj Deshmukh and doctors from the unit which handled the operation. The doctor who performed the operation has been missing after the man lost his leg. He has been held guilty by the committee appointment by Sassoon Hospital after the complaint in the matter was forwarded to it, officials said.

PCMC heath officials said the state government has taken serious note of the lapse as it was not the first time YCMH functioning has been reported to the government. “The government wants strong action in the matter so that such cases do not repeat and patients’ faith is not shaken in civic and government hospitals,” said officials.

[related-post]

Dr Roy said the State Human Rights Commission had also directed PCMC to investigate the matter and file an affidavit in the matter.

“The Commission has taken suo motu following a report in Newsline. The commission had sent a letter and the paper clipping of the news report directing us to file an affidavit in the matter,” said officials. Officials said the human rights commission has taken strong exception to the negligence on the part of the YCMH doctors and management and has sought strict action in the matter and recommended all help be provided to the patient.

PCMC health officials said the doctor who performed the operation went missing after the man’s leg had to be amputated. “We are planning to recommend that his degree be revoked,” said officials.

PCMC officials said the probe against YCMH chief Dr Manoj Deshmukh is basically aimed at finding out what he actually did. “Did he have control over the situation? Was he updated by the doctors about the progress of the case? Does he on his own seek progress in patient’s case,” said officials. Officials said the probe is being carried out by an independent person and will find out the guilt of each individual involved.

Story continues below this ad

The family of Balasaheb Dhendge, who had lost his leg, had filed a police complaint in January against the doctor and also filed complaints with the Chief Minister’s office and Health Minister Deepak Sawant. “I hope now justice will be done to me and my family.

The operation has rendered me helpless and hopeless. My family has fallen on bad times. PCMC had promised me a job and monetary assistance but since then nothing has come my way,” said Dhendge.

His sister, Seema Pawar, who had been running from one authority to another seeking justice for her brother, said, “I cannot bring back the lost leg of my brother. But I want PCMC to take care of him and his family. It had promised his family financial assistance but has apparently backtraced. We hope the state government and the State Human Rights Commissioner will make PCMC see sense,” she said.
Dhendge was admitted to YCM Hospital on September 16 as he was finding it difficult to walk due to a vericose vein problem. The operation was performed a week later, after which it led to complications.

Dhengde’s sister Seema said that when they tried to find out the reasons from the doctors, they remained evasive. “It was clear that they had botched up the surgery. But the hospital was not able to take any immediate corrective steps,” she said.

Story continues below this ad

Pawar said that when senior surgeon Sanjay Padale was handed over the case, it was too late. “We were told that my brother’s leg would have to be amputated and there was no other option. If it wouldn’t be severed, it would affect other organs and that could prove fatal,” Pawar said.

Dhendge was finally operated upon during which his right leg was severed.

WATCH INDIAN EXPRESS VIDEOS HERE

Manoj Dattatrye More

Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades. Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives. Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees. During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa. Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died. Manoj More is on Facebook with 4.9k followers (Manoj More), on twitter manojmore91982 ... Read More

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories

Tags:

PCMC