A patient undergoing hemodialysis in a hospital in India.

In what can only be described as shocking case of medical negligence, three patients undergoing hemodialysis at a hospital in India died shortly after power failure. According to a news report, the tragedy occurred at the Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute in Puducherry in South India.

What is even more shocking is that the hospital did not have a duty doctor in charge of the dialysis unit. According to the news report, two nurses and four dialysis technicians, who are interns, used to manage the unit. The hospital does not have a nephrologist.

Dr A Bupathy, Head of Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who is the Acting Medical Superintendent of the hospital, rejected the charge of medical negligence. While the patients were admitted around 8 am for dialysis, power failure happened around 10.15 am after which their condition rapidly deteriorated, Dr Bupathy said.

The victims were identified as Sushila (75) from Kadirgamam, Amsa (58) from Veeman Nagar and Ganeshan (55) from Gandhithirunallur in Puducherry. While Sushila and Amsa died about 20 minutes after the power went off, Ganeshan was shifted to the ICU, where he died a few minutes later.

According to the report, the intern dialysis technicians on duty informed the Assistant Professor of Medicine following which a team of doctors tried in vain to revive the patients. A three-member probe panel has been announced while compensation would be given to the next of kin of the victims.

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