Cloudnine Hospital in Nagarabhavi, Bengaluru, has come under a major medical negligence allegation after a 1.5-year-old boy suffered a life-threatening medical complication while getting ready for ear surgery. Shayan is admitted to the ICU of Cloudnine Hospital in Jayanagar.
The child’s health deteriorated after anaesthesia was administered, and he suffered from a critical medical emergency. An expert report has reportedly been submitted questioning the treatment and anaesthesia management, and the Karnataka Health Department has asked the hospital administration for an explanation.
The parents said Shayan was admitted to Cloudnine Hospital in Nagarabhavi after he had an injury to his ear. The doctors were supposed to operate on him on September 26 for the injury, but after anaesthesia was given, the child’s condition reportedly worsened during the surgery.
An expert report has said that the child developed laryngospasm (involuntary closure of the vocal cords, which can block breathing). After this complication, the child's oxygen saturation levels dropped drastically and then it went downhill further, and the child reportedly suffered cardiac arrest for seven minutes before medical staff gave cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive him.
After the emergency, he was put on ventilator support and intensive medical care. He was shifted from Nagarabhavi facility to Cloudnine Hospital in Jayanagar for further treatment as his condition had become serious. Family members said Shayan has not shown any recovery after getting treated for nearly three months.
His mother Monica said she is very worried about him because her child is still in the ICU. She said the family is emotionally down as hope of seeing the child recover and come home slowly fades away. Parents have also spent Rs 3.5 lakh so far on his treatment, reportedly.
Monica has asked how an injury to the child’s ear, which had to be operated on initially, could have led to such a serious condition. She said parents had requested general anaesthesia but were not given it; that the hospital told them milk taken by the child entered his lungs and this was the cause of emergency and cardiac arrest; that later complications affected the child's brain, leading to current critical state; referred to expert opinion (that apparently worried about lapses in child’s medical management). Allegations against the hospital and medical circumstances will only emerge out of an official investigation.
Strong protests by the child’s parents and family members outside Cloudnine Hospital in Nagarabhavi demanding justice for their son. They held banners and posters outside and inside the hospital demanding accountability from doctors and management of hospital (apparently messages on it were that child deserved justice).
The situation turned tense when family members expressed anger over the treatment given to the toddler. The hospital reportedly filed a complaint alleging that the child’s parents assaulted hospital staff during the confrontation. Members of Annapoorneshwari Nagar Police Station also came under criticism from the family when they intervened to control the situation.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka Health Department has taken cognisance of the allegations and issued a notice to Cloudnine Hospital seeking an explanation as to how the child was treated. The expert report is said to have questioned the anaesthesia procedure and medical decisions made during surgery.
The department would look into the circumstances leading to the incident, administration of anaesthesia, sudden deterioration of the child, emergency response and treatment thereafter. The hospital administration will have to respond to the notice and clarify its stand on the allegations.
It has once again brought to light the need for patient safety when treating infants and young children who require anaesthesia and surgery. Medical experts generally say that pre-operative assessment, fasting protocols, anaesthesia monitoring and emergency response during paediatric procedures must be done properly before anything is blamed for a lapse in those areas.
If there was any lapse, then medical review should take place before responsibility can be fixed. For Shayan’s family, the immediate priority is the child’s recovery, but they are still seeking answers and accountability. What comes out of the Health Department investigation and the hospital’s response will decide what actually happened at the Nagarabhavi facility.
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