AIIMS administration sacks senior resident doctor in connection with nurse's death

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences’ administration on Tuesday sacked a senior resident doctor in connection with the death of a nurse on February 4. In a statement, Aiims said it had issued a “termination order to the senior resident, anaesthesiology, who was found guilty for wilful absence of his duties”, Hindustan Times reported. Rajbir Kaur, 28, died after being on ventilator support for three weeks after suffering a cardiac arrest during an emergency caesarean section surgery.

The institute’s administration said it would also serve a show cause notice to a consulting doctor of obstetrics and gynaecology for not being available for an emergency surgery despite being informed about it. A junior resident doctor of anaesthesiology will also be issued a warning for leaving the operation theatre under pressure from other resident doctors, The Telegraph reported.

The hospital will also give Kaur’s family compensation of Rs 10 lakh and a job for a family member. The head of the hospital’s anaesthesiology department has also been asked to ensure the full-time availability of senior residents at the maternity operating theatre. The hospital will also set up a committee under the chairman of the hospital’s management board to review and enhance employee health schemes. Kaur’s family said they were “satisfied” with the administration’s decision, The Indian Express reported. However, her husband Manish Behl said they were still waiting for the Delhi Police to register a first information report on a complaint filed by them.

The hospital management’s decision comes after weeks of protests by both doctors and nurses unions. The nurses’ unions have alleged that the doctors attending to Kaur were responsible for being late to detect a slow heart beat in her foetus, which had prompted the emergency caesarean section surgery. However, the hospital has denied claims that doctors gave Kaur excessive medication to induce labour. The institution had suspended five doctors in connection with the incident on February 5.