Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB)

Udupi, Oct 28: The parents of a young woman who died three months ago, allegedly due to medical negligence, are still awaiting her post-mortem report.

Vinitha (27) had been admitted to a private hospital for a minor operation for knee pain on June 8 this year. But within two days, she breathed her last.

Describing the incident in a press meet here on Saturday October 28, A P Bhat, a professor in physics in a college here, and who is also Vinitha's relative, said, "Vinitha Bhat was the only daughter of Vasudev and Malini Bhat of Suralu village near Brahmavar. After their daughter completed high school education, the family shifted to Bengaluru for further studies.

"In 2016, she suffered pain in her knee, for which the family consulted a famous orthopaedic in Bengaluru. Based on scan reports, the doctor told them that there was nothing to worry. But the parents were not convinced. The parents then sought second opinion from orthopaedic Dr Bhaskaranand of Udupi. He conducted tests and told the family that Vinitha needed to undergo an operation without delay, and warned that she might suffer in future if the operation were not performed. He also promised to solve her problem," Prof Bhat said.

"On the night of June 8, Vinitha was admitted to the private hospital in Udupi. She was taken for surgery next day at around 6.30 am, and by 9 am, the surgery was over. However, the parents were not allowed to see her. Vinitha woke up at around 12 noon and was given light food. By 4 pm, she was shifted back to the general ward from the post-operative.

"However, at around 7 pm, Vinitha started vomiting all of a sudden. The nurses informed the duty doctor. Dr Bhasakaranand asked her parents to take Vinitha to another hospital immediately. The parents did so, but they were not given a proper discharge summary by the doctor. In the other hospital, Vinitha was kept for two days, and finally on June 19, she was declared dead. The parents suspect that she was dead even before being shifted to the other hospital, as her body was cold. They were not given any files or reports by the hospital. The doctors advised the parents to cremate her body without delay. Vinitha was then cremated after post-mortem," Prof Bhat said.

"Three months have passed since Vinitha's death, but the post-mortem report is yet to come out. We have been told that the report has been sent to another hospital in Mangaluru. Only once the report is out will the truth be revealed.

"No parent should face such a situation. We have filed a complaint against six persons including doctors and nurses. But the Udupi town police are yet to register the FIR," he said.

"Vinitha's parents suspect that the nurses might have done something wrong or might have given high dosage of injection. But they (parents) are not able to identify the mistake. Vinitha was the only child to her parents and active in social service and sports. Soon after her post-graduation, she got a job in a good company was supposed to join in July.

"The parents have lost their beloved daughter due to the negligence in medical care. The family demands justice and strict action against the doctors and hospital staff responsible for Vinitha's death," Prof Bhat said.

Vinitha's parents Vasudev and Malini Bhat were also present.