Sep 01, 2014 03:17 PM
3336 Views
Callous Treatment at MJ Naidu Hospital
Doctors all over the world take the Hippocratic Oath (“Service above self”, i.e. patient’s wellbeing above our own comforts, aspirations, avarice and rising above the constraints of religion, caste and nationality) after graduation but 99% of them do not even remember the first few lines leave alone the whole oath. Doctors are human and one has to ignore many errors as there is always a scope for human error and none of us is perfect. But gross negligence and casual treatment of a patient who is going for Spinal Fusion is not excusable.
16th August I met Dr.Subaiah at MJ Naidu Hospital around noon. My niece who lives in Hyderabad, close to Sunshine Hospitals, updated the Doctor of my previous surgery and present condition through test reports and MRI images. Doctor said that he would like to see me personally and as he was visiting Dr.MJ Naidu’s clinic on weekends it wouldn’t be a problem.
I took an appointment and reached the hospital at 9.30 am itself along with my daughter, but was told that doctor would be available only after an hour. I could barely sit and was lying down in the car propped with pillows. We went back home and came back to the hospital and met the doctor. I found him to be a very genial, warm person who made me, the patient feel that I was in good hands. He explained my condition in detail after checking out my reports and MRI scans.
He said that Spinal fusion would be the best option in my case, if I wanted to lead a normal life. I asked him if I need to go to Sunshine Hospitals in Hyderabad for treatment or I could undergo the surgery here, in Vijayawada itself. Doctor said that there was hardly any difference between the two as he would be doing the surgery anyways. He was ready to do the Surgery on 16th evening or 17th morning. But I asked him for some more time as I had to get the funds ready for the surgery. I asked for a tentative amount for the surgery in whole like a package. Doctor quoted 2.30 lakhs. Being a single woman and trying to make ends meet for myself and my kids, I asked if I could be given a better deal, as the surgery would not be covered by Insurance. The Doctor was most accommodating and quoted 2.10 lakhs. Which he said could be the final figure. Doctor was unsure of his weekend visit the next week and asked me to call him for confirmation. I called him on Tuesday and he said he would be in Vja by 23rd August, noon and would do the surgery in the evening.
On 22st August, I went to the hospital to meet Mr.Dilip, the admin and understand the pre- surgery details. Mr.Dilip, met us very warmly and asked us to be seated to discuss the terms. We spoke about the pre and post-operative bills which would be covered by my insurance and he said that he would do his best. On asking about the total amount, he was evasive and said he would let us know after talking to the doctors. He asked me to go for a blood test, ECG and an Echo. I was wheeled to the lab and my blood was taken and even the ECG done soon but I had to wait there alone for more than an hour as the Doctor who did the Echo test was not available. By that time I came to know that doctor may conduct the surgery on early Sunday morning as he would reach Vja late night. So I opted to go home and get the echo done the next day when I was admitted.Dilip told us that I need to be admitted on Saturday afternoon itself as the Anaesthetic could check me out.
ON 23rd August, I was admitted into the private ward of MJ Naidu hospitals around 4 pm.The echo was done and my BP checked around 7pm but there was no sign of the anaesthetist at all. The washroom was home to at least 4 healthy cockroaches who were apparently feasting on the garbage. I had to ask for a repellent gel from home to exterminate them. I was not informed about my fasting hours before the surgery until 10pm in the night. I was told that I could not eat anything after 12 midnight. Not knowing this I did not have my dinner and at 10pm there was nothing to eat too. I was asked to relax and have a good night’s sleep. Around 1.30 am I was woken up suddenly by a loud banging on the door.(they haven’t been taught how to knock apparently) Two ayahs walked in and said that I need to be shaved. They did not have a razor or even a soap for lather. They shaved my pubic area with a small, dry blade.(my surgery was on the lower back and I do not know why a shave was needed) My daughter offered the ayahs a 100/- but they said that the going rate was 300/-.They asked me to be showered and ready in the surgical gown by 5am in the morning .
24th August, 5 am I was all fresh and ready to face the day and the surgery. The ayahs came to take me to the Theatre in a wheelchair after 6.30. I was accompanied by my daughter who was carrying an amount of one lakh as we thought that they would make us pay the doctors fee before the surgery itself. Once I reached the theatre I was told that it was not yet ready and asked to lie down in the waiting room. The bed sheet I was asked to lie on was soiled and the pillow which was cover was smeared with blood. It made me feel nauseated and the doctors talk of hygiene in and outside the theatre. Dr.Subaiah admonished the theatre attendants for not getting the OT ready as he had instructed them to have it ready at 5am. After a long wait I was asked to head to the OT.
I preferred to walk into the OT rather than climb the high stretcher. The attendants led me inside and I found the anaesthetist getting his act ready. I lay on the operating table and he came up to me and asked me if I was a local and if not from where. Small talk over he started looking for my veins to poke in to. He reached for the inside of my right arm and I asked him not to poke me there as it would be uncomfortable to keep it steady. He was struggling to find the vein and was holding the syringe. I informed him that my veins were too thin and it would only take a 22 size needle. He took heed of that and poked me with the anaesthesia. I lost consciousness almost immediately. I was turned over on the table, with my body resting on 4 raised blocks. He admonished the attendants for not bringing me on the stretcher.
Now began the nightmare … the doctor cut the skin on my spine with the scalpel and laid the skin aside. I felt the pain of the cut and slicing of my skin. I thought I was hallucinating due to the anaesthesia, but then doctor started grinding the vertebrae or bone?? With a grinder which gave a grating sound just like the one workers use to cut tiles or marble, he sawed my bone. He then made a hole in the bone to fit the screw in.He hammered in the four screws after making holes I assumed that he put a cage inside.He then hammered the screws again to close them tight. In the meanwhile he was asking the male nurses why his instrument was not used to put in the screw. Male nurse replied that the same was being used all the time and Dr.Subaiah’s was not. The doctor kept asking for suction and in the middle even lost his patience when the person with the suction was slow.
I was giving out ear-splitting screams but my voice wasn’t being heard. I even bit my tongue hard in order to repress the pain but nothing helped. I was trying to move my hands and head to draw their attention but nothing happened. I was waiting for the torture to end and felt as if I would die on the operating table itself. I said my last prayers and thought of my son, daughter, and daughter-in- law and my month old grandson. The pain was excruciating and it was far worse than what hell is made out to be. Due to the muscle relaxant along with the anaesthesia I could not move but the anaesthesia itself did not work.
At last the doc said he was leaving and they could sew me up. One of the attendants reminded the doctor that I had asked for cosmetic sutures as normal ones would leave an ugly scar. But the doc said carry on with normal sutures and left.
The attendants th
