Following my blog post below, a friend brought it to the attention of officials in the Health Department who took a serious view of the matter and ordered an inquiry. All the nurses on the evening shift that day were called, and Meera's case sheet was also reviewed.
The day before the inquiry, Meera's husband received a call from a woman who said she knew they had complained, and that they should come the next day to the committee and withdraw the complaint as it was a question of possibly losing her job. Meera and her family were too scared to testify or even to stand in front of a committee to deny anything. (In fact, they had not formally complained -Meera's sister had told me about their experience as a matter of course when I asked about Meera). They did not turn up at the inquiry to identify the nurses.
The nurses (as expected), all denied that they had taken any money, alleging that the family had complained since they did not see Meera as often as the family felt they should.
An examination of the chart revealed no entries apart from admission details a day before the delivery, and the delivery details (over 24 hours later) about the baby weight and condition. There were no notes about her progress of labour, nor any notes about the baby and mother during the 48 hours Meera remained in hospital after the delivery. The first page does not even have the date on which she was discharged from the hospital.
All the nurses on shift that day have been transferred out of the labour room and the maternity ward, pending a more formal inquiry.
One of Meera's neighbours who recently delivered at the same hospital said she had heard someone had complained and there was an inquiry and nurses had been transferred. The ones now in the labour room had treated her very politely and no one asked for any money, she told Meera.
A good first step, sending out a message that such actions will not be condoned. One hopes that the quality of care and record keeping is also pursued with equal vigour.
The day before the inquiry, Meera's husband received a call from a woman who said she knew they had complained, and that they should come the next day to the committee and withdraw the complaint as it was a question of possibly losing her job. Meera and her family were too scared to testify or even to stand in front of a committee to deny anything. (In fact, they had not formally complained -Meera's sister had told me about their experience as a matter of course when I asked about Meera). They did not turn up at the inquiry to identify the nurses.
The nurses (as expected), all denied that they had taken any money, alleging that the family had complained since they did not see Meera as often as the family felt they should.
An examination of the chart revealed no entries apart from admission details a day before the delivery, and the delivery details (over 24 hours later) about the baby weight and condition. There were no notes about her progress of labour, nor any notes about the baby and mother during the 48 hours Meera remained in hospital after the delivery. The first page does not even have the date on which she was discharged from the hospital.
All the nurses on shift that day have been transferred out of the labour room and the maternity ward, pending a more formal inquiry.
One of Meera's neighbours who recently delivered at the same hospital said she had heard someone had complained and there was an inquiry and nurses had been transferred. The ones now in the labour room had treated her very politely and no one asked for any money, she told Meera.
A good first step, sending out a message that such actions will not be condoned. One hopes that the quality of care and record keeping is also pursued with equal vigour.
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