Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the state government to pay Rs 4 lakh as compensation to a woman who suffered serious health complications due to medical negligence by an Ayush doctor at the community health centre (CHC) in Keonjhar in 2022. The apex rights body also directed the Chief Secretary to ensure payment of the amount to the victim and submission of its compliance report within six weeks. “The Government of Odisha, through its Chief Secretary, is recommended to release Rs 4,00,000 to the victim Gurubari Mahanta, wife of Pradeep Patel of Sendkap in Keonjhar Sadar block, and submit the compliance report along with the proof of payment to the Commission within six weeks,” reads the NHRC order. The state government, in its reply to the apex rights body, has agreed to the suggestion regarding deduction of the compensation amount from the salary of the erring Ayush doctor, Ashok Kumar Sahoo.
The Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) of Keonjhar, in an inquiry report, stated that as per the guidelines of the state government, the Ayush doctor should have referred the woman to the Keonjhar district headquarters hospital (DHH), which is just 12km away from Padmapur, after providing basic treatment. The woman, who experienced profuse bleeding after the delivery of her baby girl, was admitted to the CHC, Padmapur August 13, 2022, and the doctor, instead of referring her to the Keonjhar DHH, stitched her urinary bladder, the CDMO report said. “Repairing of extensive tears in the vagina, including anal tear, is beyond the capacity of an Ayush doctor. But Dr Sahoo ventured stitching without assessing the gravity of the situation and without realising the follow-up complications,” it noted.
