Infant’s thumb severed at Indore’s MY Hospital; nurse suspended

Indore, Jan 10 (PTI) A nurse accidentally severed the thumb of an infant while removing a cannula at the state-run Maharaja Yashwantrao (MY) Hospital in Indore, following which she was suspended, a senior doctor from the medical facility said on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, Dean Dr Arvind Gangoria told PTI. The 3,000-bed MY Hospital is the largest government hospital in Madhya Pradesh.

According to the official, the one-and-a-half-month-old baby had been admitted to the hospital in critical condition with pneumonia. It was recovering after being put on ventilator support.

The nurse mistakenly cut off the infant’s thumb with a pair of scissors while removing the IV cannula, he said.

Dr Gangoria said the severed body part was surgically reattached, and the baby is doing well.

The nurse has been suspended for negligence, while three senior nurses will face a one-month salary cut for supervisory lapses, he said.

An inquiry committee headed by hospital superintendent Ashok Yadav has been formed to probe the incident. The panel also includes paediatrician Dr Nirbhay Mehta, deputy superintendent Dr Rohit Baderia and nursing superintendent Dayavati Dayal, he added.

The committee has begun recording statements of nursing staff.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla, who holds the health portfolio, directed the hospital to investigate the role of medical and support staff in the incident and take strict action against those found guilty, according to a government statement.

The hospital was in the news a few months ago following the death of two newborns after allegedly being bitten by rats.

On the deaths of the two newborns last year, Dr Gangoria said post-mortem reports had pointed to medical complications. “They were premature and their vital organs had not developed,” he said. PTI LAL NR