KHNAM writes to MCC, demands independent inquiry into death of 23-yr-old girl at NEIGRIHMS

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJanuary 25, 2024

The Khun Hynniewtrep National Awakening Movement (KHNAM) Thursday demanded an independent inquiry into the death of a 23-year-old girl at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

In a letter to the Meghalaya Medical Council (MMC), KHNAM working president Thomas Passah said, “…we strongly demand that an independent inquiry be constituted on the incident that occurred at NEIGRIHMS causing the death of a 23 year old girl.”

The demand came after a video went viral on January 24, alleging a 23-year-old girl died due medical negligence of NEIGRIHMS.

Passah said that the family members had expressed discontent with the way the medical authorities treated the 23-year-old girl.

“As per the family members, it is claimed that they have not met any doctor for continuous one-week i”e from 17 – 22 January 24 and the girl was declared dead at 9 pm on January 23, further after the operation was conducted on the girl (due to blockage in the intestine as per the institute), she was directly taken to ICU without informing the family members. While in the ICU the girl had written a letter wherein, she had stated that she was neglected even after complaining of having problems to breath, further the family members have also express concern when only a death certificate was handed to them and no explanation about the death nor any document of medication history was handed over to the family members,” he said.

According to him, the letter written by the patient while in ICU describing all the negligence by the medical staff is an important document.

Further, Passah said that in the State of Meghalaya there are multiple incidents of medical negligence which go unreported.

“Medical negligence has become one of the serious issues in the State and in the country at large in recent years, medical profession, which is known to be one of the noblest professions, is not immune to negligence which often results in the death of the patient or complete/partial impairment or any other misery which has adverse effects on the patient’s health,” he said.

“It is reported that every year in India 98,000 people in the country lose their lives in a year because of medical negligence. It is no surprise that even the slightest mistake made by a doctor can have life-altering effects on the patients,” he stated.