Mother dies, father protests with newborn baby in front of SAT Hospital

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A young woman who recently gave birth at SAT Hospital died after developing an infection. Her relatives claim the infection came from the hospital. Hospital officials, however, say the infection might have occurred after she went home. The presence of Acinetobacter bacteria found in the blood of J.R. Sivapriya (26), of KarikkakOm Sreeragam Road (TC 91/2846), is now at the centre of a dispute over where the infection originated. She died around 11 a.m. yesterday at the ventilator unit of the Medical College Hospital.

Angry relatives protested for nearly eight hours in front of the SAT Hospital along with the 19-day-old newborn. They said they would not accept the body until action is taken against those responsible. The protest ended around 7.30 p.m. after hospital authorities promised a detailed investigation. The post-mortem will be conducted today in the presence of the RDO. The body is currently kept at the Medical College mortuary.

This incident comes soon after another case in which Venu, a native of Kollam, died allegedly due to a lack of proper care at the Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram.

Sivapriya worked as a cashier at a private firm in Karikkakom. Her husband, Manu (a daily wage worker), brought their two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Sivanethra and newborn son Brihadeeswaran to the protest along with local residents. BJP, Yuva Morcha, and Youth Congress activists also joined. Former Union Minister V Muraleedharan was among those present.

Normal delivery, but…

• This was Sivapriya's second delivery. She was under treatment at Fort Government Hospital. On October 20, she was referred to the SAT Hospital for a scan after reduced fetal movement was noticed.
• On October 22, she gave birth to a baby boy through a normal delivery. She walked on her own when she was discharged on the 24th. She had a slight fever, which hospital staff said might be due to a cold. When fever and vomiting increased, she returned to SAT on the 26th. Doctors informed her that the stitches had loosened. She fainted. She was told it could be dengue or low blood count and was moved to the ICU.
• The next day, as her condition worsened, she was shifted to the multispecialty block at the Medical College Hospital. A blood test confirmed the presence of Acinetobacter bacteria.

No infection in other patients: Superintendent
“We feel saddened by the family’s loss. The labour room was disinfected. She returned with vomiting only after going home. Neither the mother nor the baby had any infection during delivery, and she had no fever during the time of discharge. We had confirmed there was no infection. No other patients under treatment have had any infection. When she came back, her stitches had loosened. We cannot say whether the infection was from the Medical College multispecialty block.”
- Dr Bindu, Superintendent, SAT Hospital and Dr Suja, Head of Gynaecology

Infection originated from the hospital: Manu
“By around 9.30 a.m., the doctor called me and said her lungs were filled with blood clots due to the infection and her condition was critical.
The bacteria detected is one that spread only through hospitals. I have the report with me.”
- Manu, husband