Due to the negligence of medical personnel at the state’s largest Sawai Mansingh Hospital, a life was lost. Following the tragic death of young Sachin Sharma due to an erroneous blood transfusion, officials from the medical department failed to take appropriate action.
A committee was formed to investigate the incident, and it submitted its findings to Medical Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar. The report implicated an associate professor of orthopaedics, two resident doctors, and a nursing staff member.
In response, ACS Shubhra Singh took disciplinary action by reassigning Dr. SK Goyal, the associate professor of the Orthopedics Department, along with resident doctor Daulat Ram and Dr. Rishabh Chalana, to administrative positions only.
Additionally, the nursing staff member Ashok Kumar Verma, deemed most responsible by the investigation committee, was suspended. The significant aspect is that the doctors, residents, and nursing staff members who have been done APO, have also had their headquarters retained in Jaipur.
Sachin was hospitalized in the trauma ward on February 12th following a road accident. Instead of receiving O-positive blood, the patient was mistakenly given AB-positive blood, resulting in damage to both of his kidneys. Subsequently, the hospital administration attempted to suppress the incident.
Investigations revealed that the sample and slip provided to the family members to procure blood for the Trauma Center belonged to another patient. Consequently, when the family members presented the slip at the Trauma Blood Bank, the staff provided the same blood type, AB positive, even though Sachin’s blood group was O positive. This led to the erroneous transfusion of blood.
Following Sachin’s demise, a significant number of his family members and villagers gathered, along with members of the community, at the hospital mortuary. They initiated a protest against the hospital administration, which lasted into the late hours of the night.
During the protest, the family members demanded action against the responsible individuals, a compensation of Rs 1 crore, and the filing of an FIR. MLAs Gopal Sharma and Balmukundacharya also joined the protest, advocating for action against those involved in the incident. While attempting to address the situation, they urged the administrative officials present to submit a compensation proposal to the government.
Additionally, it was agreed upon to file an FIR against the doctors and nursing staff implicated in the case. Throughout the day, the family members prevented the post-mortem from being conducted.
This is how the issue was brought to the surface.
After a blood transfusion and operation in trauma, he was shifted to the plastic surgery department. Here, when the patient again needed blood, the doctors again prepared a prescription and gave it. When the patient’s relatives arrived with blood, they gave blood stating that the blood group was O positive (O+) and it was also given to the young man.
On the other hand, the investigation has also revealed that the blood report and complete information received from the trauma centre were not written on Sachin’s file. After taking blood from the Trauma Blood Bank, its complete details have to be entered in the patient’s file. In this, everything from the blood group to the tag on the blood bag has to be cross-checked, but investigation revealed that no such details were written on Sachin’s file.
In such a situation, when Sachin was referred to the plastic surgery department, no blood test could be done. Had the details been complete, the blood group would have been known even before the blood sample was given in the plastic surgery department.
Following the blood transfusion and surgery in the trauma ward, Sachin was transferred to the plastic surgery department. It was during his stay there that the need for another blood transfusion arose. The doctors issued another prescription, and when Sachin’s relatives arrived with the blood, they provided it, stating that it was O positive (O+), the same blood group as Sachin’s.
If Sachin had not been admitted to the plastic surgery department and had not asked for blood through SMS, this negligence would not have come to light. Furthermore, the investigation revealed discrepancies in Sachin’s medical records. The blood report and other essential information received from the trauma centre were not documented in Sachin’s file.
Typically, all details from the blood group to the label on the blood bag are meticulously recorded in the patient’s file upon blood acquisition from the Trauma Blood Bank. However, it was found that no such information was recorded in Sachin’s file.
Consequently, when Sachin was referred to the plastic surgery department, no blood tests were conducted. Had the medical records been properly updated, Sachin’s blood group would have been known even before the blood sample was procured for his transfer to the plastic surgery department.