Two doctors suspended in Rewa following maternal and newborn deaths

REWA: Two doctors posted at Gandhi Memorial Hospital, affiliated with Rewa's Shyam Shah Medical College, were suspended on Saturday following the deaths of a woman and her newborn during childbirth. A five-member committee has also been constituted to investigate the incident.

According to news agency ANI, the suspended doctors have been identified as Dr Sonal Agarwal of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department and Dr Nidhi Pandey of the Anaesthesiology department. They were on duty at the time of the incident, Madhya Pradesh health minister and deputy chief minister Rajendra Shukla confirmed.

The woman, identified as Kalpana Mishra, a resident of Hatwa village in the Baikunthpur area, was admitted to Gandhi Memorial Hospital for delivery on the night of August 25. She and her newborn died during childbirth at 12:56 am on August 26. Following the deaths, the woman's family created an uproar at the hospital, accusing the doctors of negligence.

A purported video recorded shortly before Kalpana Mishra's death also went viral. In the video, she was seen emerging from the operation theatre and screaming that the doctors wanted to kill her, while pleading with her family members to save her. Hospital staff were seen restraining her and taking her back inside, according to Shukla.

In view of the gravity of the incident, action was taken against the doctors on duty, with Dr Sonal Agarwal and Dr Nidhi Pandey being suspended. A five-member team has also been constituted to investigate the matter, Shukla said.

Speaking on the incident, Madhya Pradesh deputy CM Shukla described the death as a "deeply sad and unfortunate event". "A sad and unfortunate incident has occurred, and action has already been taken. The doctor on duty and the anesthesiologist involved have been suspended, and an inquiry committee has been constituted. Officials from Bhopal have also been included in the process; once the investigation report is received, we will gain a clearer picture of the facts and take whatever further action is necessary," Shukla said.

Madhya Pradesh health minister further said the government was making every possible effort to strengthen healthcare infrastructure through both central and state initiatives. "Overall, the government's objective is to spare no effort in developing healthcare infrastructure through the combined initiatives of the central and state governments. We are working diligently to provide comprehensive facilities--be it equipment, infrastructure, the deployment of doctors, or the augmentation of paramedical staff," he said.

He said the government aims to ensure that patients visiting government hospitals receive proper treatment without any negligence, while stressing that doctors must remain punctual and personally attend to critical cases. "The administration is making every effort to ensure that patients visiting government hospitals receive proper treatment without any lapses. Our MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate) and IMR (Infant Mortality Rate) figures are generally improving. However, unfortunate incidents do occur, and the action taken here is aimed at preventing them. Once the inquiry report is available, we will examine the matter in greater depth; this will also reinforce a sense of responsibility among the duty doctors and faculty at the medical college--reminding them of the importance of punctuality and the need to personally handle serious cases," Shukla said.

The five-member inquiry committee will be headed by Dr Beenu Kushwaha, OBGY, Director, Regulation & Policy, DoPH&ME, Madhya Pradesh, who will serve as the chairperson. The other members are Dr GS Parihar, RD Health Services, Rewa Division; Dr Bhagwan Singh Yadav, Associate Professor, Pathology Department and In-charge, Blood Bank, NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur; Dr Shweta Sirsikar, Associate Professor, OBGY Department, NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur; and Dr Pankaj Budholiya, Deputy Director, Maternal Health, NHM Madhya Pradesh. The committee has been directed to submit its findings to the Commissioner, Public Health and Medical Education, and the Managing Director of NHM within three days.