Baby flushed down, Minister orders probe

MYSORE: Just a day after the shocking incident of a pregnant woman dying after consuming formalin accidentally at Cheluvamba Hospital, relatives of a pregnant woman accused the hospital staff of causing the death of a baby. Mangala, 24, of Koorgalli lost her male baby on Tuesday morning.Mangala was admitted to the hospital after she developed labour pain on Monday night. The doctors gave Vijaykumar a prescription slip for a few medicines, stating that his wife would deliver on Tuesday.Vijaykumar was shocked to hear that Mangala had delivered the baby when she had been to the toilet and had inadvertently flushed it.He charged the hospital authorities with negligence saying that a nurse would have accompanied her to the toilet. He said he was not informed about the baby being dead in the womb.‘Don’t Blame Us’When contacted, Dean and Director of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute Geetha Awadhani said they had informed Mangala that the foetus had died in the womb.“She knew that the foetus had died and hence she flushed it. The baby’s body was extricated from the chamber of the labour ward and there was no lapse on the part of the staff,” she said.Ramdas Orders ProbeMedical Education Minister S A Ramdas ordered an inquiry into both the incidents reported in Cheluvamba Hospital in a span of two days.He said Dr A R Raghupathy, HoD of Pathology, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, will conduct an inquiry and submit a report soon. Action will be initiated against the erring authorities after receiving the report, the minister said.