'Cardiac arrest and excessive bleeding'; Hospital authorities say Kavya suffered from rare condition, not medical error

KOCHI: The incident of the death of a woman after childbirth was not due to medical malpractice, said Don Bosco Hospital in North Paravur. Medical Superintendent Dr PK Kuncheria came out with a response after relatives alleged medical malpractice. He added that the deceased, Karyamol (30), a native of Pattampalla, had a rare condition.

"There was excessive bleeding after the delivery. It was a rare condition. Then the uterus was removed. She had a cardiac arrest in the operation theatre. There was no lapse in the incident. The blood to be donated in the initial stage was available in the hospital itself. When the relatives mentioned the need to change the hospital, we agreed," said Dr PK Kuncheria.

Kavya's second delivery took place at Don Bosco Hospital on December 24. Kavya gave birth to a baby girl at 12.50 pm. The family alleges that the authorities refused to shift the woman, who was in critical condition, to another hospital. The hospital authorities informed that she had suffered a heart attack at around 4 pm. Later, when her health condition deteriorated, the hospital authorities arranged an ambulance with a ventilator facility at a private hospital at 9.30 pm.

The woman, who was in a critical condition due to the malfunction of her internal organs, became brain dead. A postmortem was conducted at Ernakulam Medical College and the rites were performed. The police have registered a case of unnatural death in the incident. Subsequently, many people shared their experiences on social media, including the loss of life due to medical malpractice at the same hospital.