Caught on Camera: Infant Dies as Doctors Fight During Surgery

Dr Ashok Nainwal & Dr ML Tak were suspended for arguing instead of saving the infant at the Rajasthan hospital.

The baby died upon delivery, due to the delay in performing the emergency C-section at Umaid hospital, Jaipur. Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

An argument between two doctors inside the operation theatre at a hospital in Jodhput cost a woman her baby, officials said.

The incident took place at the Umaid Women and Children Hospital yesterday when gynaecologist Ashok Nainwal and anaesthetist ML Tak entered into a verbal spat over checking the heartbeat of the child, said Amilal Bhat, principal of the SN Medical College, which runs the hospital.

One of the doctors later walked out of the operation theatre. The child succumbed due to falling pulse rate, he said.

The Rajasthan High Court has taken cognizance of the incident and asked for a probe to be conducted by a panel that includes a judicial officer, said a report on CNN News18.

Talking to the channel, Dr Tak said, "The other doctor was arguing with me while I was trying to administer anaesthesia on the child. I was trying to save its life. I have raised the issue with the principal."

The incident vent viral after somebody present in the delivery room made a video of the development.

According to the report, the other doctor involved in the fight, Dr Naniwal said, “The video shows the patient of another doctor, while my patient and her baby was in good health. The other doctors who were abusing me and laughing at my expense were not attending to their patient well, who died at the end.”

Bhat said one of the doctors (an assistant professor) has been suspended and the file of the other doctor has been sent to the personnel department at Jaipur on the government’s direction.

"An inquiry committee has also been constituted to probe the matter," he said.

The woman, identified as Anita, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday morning. She was taken to the labour room, where a doctor checked her and recommended an immediate cesarean delivery.

The Jodhpur incident comes just weeks after another case of medical negligence in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, that killed over 60 children at a government hospital.

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)

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