In a video that has gone viral, two doctors at a state-run government hospital in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur are seen fighting inside an operation theatre while a pregnant woman lies on the bed.
The doctor duo, Ashok Naniwal and M L Tak, who were performing an emergency Caesarean section on the patient, who was unconscious, are seen engaged in a verbal spat.
The 30-minute fight went on even as the woman and her newborn baby were lying in front of them.
The doctors can be seen getting into a fight and pouring abuses at each other.
One doctor is heard saying, “Be in your limits”, to which the other replies, “You will have to pay for this.” The incident took place at the Umaid Hospital in Jodhpur.
Mother and child safe
While earlier reports said that the newborn had died, Rajasthan Health Minister Kali Charan Saraf issued a press note late night on Wednesday which says that both the woman and the baby on the operation table were safe.
The press note clarifies: “Both the woman and the baby on that operation table where the doctors were seen fighting in the video are fine. The baby which died was on the second operation theatre and not in the one which is shown in the video.”
The minister’s statement comes after people from all walks of life criticised the health facilities.
The press note further says, “Both the doctors will remain suspended till the committee submits its report on September 4.” The hospital had constituted a three-member expert committee under Dr Ranjana Desai to probe the incident. Obstetrician Ashok Naniwal and anaesthetist Tak have been suspended.
HC wants reply
Earlier, the Rajasthan High Court’s principal bench at Jodhpur took cognizance and sought a reply from the government on the incident in one week. The state women’s rights commission summoned the hospital’s superintendent on September 1. However, no FIR has been lodged so far.
The incident comes two weeks after a case of medical negligence in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, that killed over 70 children at a government hospital.
The incident had put a question mark on the condition of healthcare services in the country.
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