Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

Doctors all over the world take the Hippocratic Oath (“Service above self”, i.e. patient’s well-being 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 a Spinal Fusion are not excusable. Here is my tale of a horror Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital.

Meeting Dr Subbaiah

1. On 16th August, I met Dr Subbaiah at MJ Naidu Hospital around noon. My niece, who lives in Hyderabad, close to Sunshine Hospitals, updated the Doctor on my previous surgery and present condition through test reports and MRI images. The 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 the 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 feel I was in expert hands. He explained my condition 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.

Cost of the Surgery

When I asked him if I need to go to Sunshine Hospitals in Hyderabad for treatment or if I could undergo the surgery here, in Vijayawada itself, the doctor replied that there was no difference between the two as he would do the surgery, anyway. He was ready to do the Surgery on the 16th evening or the 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, like a package.

The doctor quoted 2.30 lakhs. Being a single woman and trying to make ends meet for myself and my kids, I asked if they could give me a better deal, as insurance would not cover the surgery. The Doctor was most accommodating and quoted 2.10 lakhs. Which, he said, could be the ultimate figure. The 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 Vijayawada by 23rd August, noon and would do the surgery in the evening.

Pre-surgery

2. On 22nd August, I went to the hospital to meet Mr Dilip, the admin and to understand the pre-surgery details. Mr Dilip met us warmly and asked us to be seated to discuss the terms. We spoke about the pre and post-operative pharmacy bills which my insurance would cover 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.

They wheeled me to the lab and drew blood for a test. They did the ECG too soon after. 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 knew that the doctor may conduct the surgery early Sunday morning as he would reach Vijayawada late at night. So I opted to go home and get the echo done the next day when they admitted me. me Dilip told us I need to be admitted on Saturday afternoon itself as the Anaesthetist could do a check-up.

Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

Admission and the start of a Nightmare

3. On 23rd August, they admitted me into the private ward of MJ Naidu hospitals around 4 pm. The echo was done, and they checked my BP around 7 pm, but there was no sign of the anaesthetist at all. There were bedbugs on the bed sheet laid by the hospital and I broke into a rash within half an hour. I then changed their sheets with mine. The washroom was home to at least 4 healthy cockroaches who were apparently feasting on the garbage. To get rid of them, I had to ask for a repellant from home. They did not inform me about my fasting hours before the surgery until 10 pm. I was told that I could eat nothing after 12 midnight. Not knowing this, I did not have my dinner and at 10 pm there was nothing to eat too.

They asked me to relax and have a good night’s sleep. Around 1.30 am a loud banging on the door rudely awakened me. (did not teach them how to knock, apparently). Two ayahs walked in and said that I need to be shaved.  They shaved my pubic area with a small, dry blade. no lather no soap (my surgery was on the lower back and I do not know why a shave was required) 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 5 am.

The Walk to the OT

4. 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. My daughter, who accompanied me, was carrying an amount of one lakh, as we thought they would make us pay the 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.

They asked me to lie on a soiled bedsheet and the pillow, which was without a cover, smeared with blood. It made me feel nauseated, and the doctors talked about hygiene in and outside the theatre. Dr Subbaiah admonished the theatre attendants for not getting the OT ready as he had instructed them to have it ready at 5 am. After a long wait, they asked me to head to the OT.

The Deadly Anaesthesia

5. 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. After the small talk was over, he started looking for my veins to poke into. 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. They turned me over on the table, with my body resting on 4 raised blocks. He admonished the attendants for not bringing me on the stretcher.

Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

6. 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 slicing through my skin. I thought I was hallucinating because of the anaesthesia, but then the doctor started grinding the vertebrae or bone with a grinder which gave a grating sound just like what workers used to cut tiles or marble. He sawed my bone. Next, he made a hole in the bone to fit the screw in.

He hammered in the four screws after making holes. I assumed he put a cage inside. After that hammered the screws again to hold the cage securely. Meanwhile, he was asking the male nurses why his instrument was not used to put in the screw. The nurse replied that the same was being used by all the doctors, and Dr Subbaiah was not. The doctor kept asking for suction and in the middle, even lost his patience when the person with the suction was slow.

Screaming in Agony

7. I was screaming at my loudest, but my voice wasn’t being heard. To suppress the pain, I bit my tongue, but nothing helped. I was trying to move my hands and head to draw their attention, but nothing happened. It was a long wait 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, daughter-in-law and my month-old grandson. The pain was excruciating, and it was far worse than what the hell is made out to be. Because of the muscle relaxant along with the anaesthesia, I could not move, but the anaesthesia itself did not work.

8. At last the doc said he was leaving and they could sew me up. One attendant reminded the doctor that I had asked for cosmetic sutures, as normal ones would leave an ugly scar. But the doc said to carry on with normal sutures and left.

9. The attendants then started talking amongst themselves. One said,” Poor thing, she asked for cosmetic sutures and we are giving her plain”

10. The other attendant said,” What can we do? We can only follow instructions”. Then they started talking about a nurse who was present that day even though it was a Sunday and she usually never turned up on Sundays. They gave me the sutures, and I further bore the pain of my skin being stitched up with sutures and then stapled as if I was a piece of paper.

Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

The Aftermath

11. They turned me over at last and they thrust the suction pipe roughly into my mouth and asked if I was ok. I was trying to scream for the doctor, but my voice was stifled. A croaking sound came out, and I was asking for a doctor. I told them that the anaesthesia did not work but nobody paid any heed to my croaking complaints and they shifted me to the ICU. When I saw my family, I was screaming in pain and related the gory experience I went through.

My daughter and my siblings were shocked and ran around for the doctor, who was already attending to other outpatients. The anaesthetist came to me later and said that he had given the right dose. I was angry and asked him to go out of my sight. The doctor came after an hour and a half and told me that the operation was successful, but refused to even listen to my grievance.

12. I have nothing against the doctor. He had done his job, and the surgery was successful!

The Late and Pathetic Apology

13. The next day the anaesthetist asked one of my family to talk to him in the ICU about the “surgery incident”. How can anybody other than me know what I went through? Then I asked him to come to my room and talk to me. He came to me the next day and said. Sorry! As if a sorry was enough to wipe out all the physical and mental trauma they put me through. It was far worse than the third degree the police use on hardened criminals. The anaesthetist went on singing paeans about his career when what I wanted was a redress of my problem.

He further said that he thought or assumed my weight to be 60 kg when, in reality, it is around 70kgs. The dose he gave was for a 60kg person. He didn’t even know my age, and he further stated that I had a short neck which could have made breathing difficult!

Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

14. For a patient going for major surgery, doesn’t the anaesthetist have to be doubly sure about a 50yr old patient’s medical history or even personal details? He admitted to having worked on guesswork!

15. My stay in the ICU was okay except for an old man making a nuisance of himself and depriving the other patients of a good night’s sleep. They took me for a post-operative X-ray from the ICU but I have not seen the bill of 400/- for it nor the X-ray itself.

Simple Injection Becomes a Nightmare

16. The cannula at the time of anaesthesia lasted till they shifted me to the room. But it had to be shifted, as the blood in it was in clots. I have never been afraid of surgeries or injections, but now the sight of the nurse with the syringe made me cringe in pain.

17. To make matters worse, the nurses were incapable of finding a vein to put in the cannula. Although my sciatica pain was better, the wound at the place of surgery was raw and painful. On the 25th evening, around 6 pm, I asked the nurse on duty for a painkiller. I also inquired if the doctor had prescribed any antibiotics and painkillers. The nurse audaciously asked me if the pain was unbearable and if I really needed a painkiller.

She came back around 10.30 pm with a senior nurse from the ICU and gave me the antibiotic and the painkiller, but even this was not without drama. First, they poked me 3 times before they found a vein to put the cannula in and then while injecting the medicine into it, the syringe burst open not once but three times.

Placebo effect

18. The next day too, I had to ask Dr Naidu if I had to take any medicine and what was post-operative care given to me. He walked in with an entourage of doctors and asked if I was comfortable. Mr Dilip insisted I change my room and shift to a bigger and better one with a scenic view. All these were like carrots or sops for me to compensate for the negligent anaesthesia and post-operative care.

Greasing the Palms

19. I started standing and walking with a brace with the help of the physiotherapists. Another point to be noted was that…..all the ayahs and male attendants asked to be tipped for every little thing they did….like pushing the wheelchair or even administering me a glycerine capsule for my constipation.

20. I am not very poor but even then I am not filthy rich that I could afford to grease their already sticky palms with a 100-buck note each time they came to my room to help! It was surely a huge drain and strain on my pocket.

Discharged or dismissed?

21. The next day, one nurse came and told me they sent my file to the reception for billing and that they would discharge me the same day on Dr. Naidu’s orders. This was news to me as Mr Naidu, who had come early morning on his rounds, did not mention even once that I was being discharged. They did not hand me a bill even then and didn’t know how much I had to shell out. Mr Dilip walked in at lunchtime and I asked him for the amount to be paid, but he kept on hedging the issue. But after a long drawn-out conversation, he concluded it would be around 2.10 lakhs.

But I told him that if I had a package deal, why was I asked to pay for the medications after the surgery? He had no answer for that. I said I was ready to pay the bill, but then who would compensate for the mental and physical trauma they put me through? He tried to evade the issue, but I kept on asking him about it as I asked us to vacate the room the same day. He then said that he would talk to Dr Naidu and get back to me soon. I waited till 6 pm but there was no sign of Mr Dilip. I called him several times, but every time the answer was ” the mobile you are calling is temporarily switched off”.

High Drama at the Billing Counter

22. My sister, who was with me at the hospital throughout my stay, started packing all our stuff as the driver was coming to drive us home. He came around 7.30 and took all our belongings and put them in the car. We walked down slowly to the entrance and the receptionist and others started shouting that I was leaving without paying the bill! I never got a bill, but they asked me to check out. How could I pay for it? Mr Dilip ordered the ayah to take me to his room, and he was vulgar and treated me shoddily. He said I could do whatever I want, could complain to whomever I want and I had to pay the full amount and leave. I tried to calm him down, but he kept on shouting.

23. I never once said I would not pay. In fact, my daughter was carrying 1 lakh rupees in her bag all the time before and after the surgery, but nobody asked for it. My daughter had gone back to Ahmedabad and my sister, who is from Delhi, barely knew where my money was. I told Mr Dilip that I would go home and send the money to my driver. He started yelling and asked security to shut the doors to prevent me from going out. I also asked him to send one of the billing guys with me to collect the amount which was in my locker at home and in the bank and I had to draw it from the ATM.

Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

Mr Dilip was like a bull in a rage. He still hadn’t given me the bill and asked the bill to be prepared at that time and given to me. I said as it was a package deal; he had to cut the pharmacy amount. They gave me the bill at last and I had my driver and 2 other guys from my brother’s office negotiating on my behalf. Then I was allowed to go home around 9 pm with 3 guys from the hospital following us. I stopped at an ATM, drew out the amount, went home and added the money that I had lying at home and paid my hospital bill.

24. The ungentlemanly and callous attitude of the doctors and hospital staff made me resolve and determined to go to the consumer court and file a case against the hospital. When Mr Dilip had come to my room earlier in the day, I had told him we could settle amicably as I did not want to go legal. Going legal would tarnish the reputed name of the hospital and the doctors, who were really not to blame, but Mr Dilip took it as an affront to his king-sized ego and asked me to go ahead with the legal notice.

The Nightmare Continues

25. I went to the hospital to get my stitches removed at around 11 am. I waited for 1 1/2 hours just for the toolkit to come from the ground floor. After that, I saw the doc again, and he asked me for an X-ray. I thought it would be over in minutes but I was in for a shocker…There was a long queue at the one X-ray machine room and tempers were running high. I had to wait for my turn, even though I was still in pain. There are not enough chairs or facilities for the patients to sit and wait. The X-ray room is right on the main passage.

When I came for the X-ray post-operation from the ICU, they wheeled me into the X-ray room without waiting for my turn. But now that they did my surgery, they didn’t even care about my condition. After a 2-hour wait, I got my turn and again reverted to the doc to show it. The doctor saw the X-ray and said that my skin was healing and I should see him again after 2 months.

Post-Operative Check-up

26. I visited the hospital again on the 15th of November at 12 noon and went to the doctor. He again asked me for an X-ray. We went down to the X-ray room, which was surrounded by harried patients waiting for their turn. I had to keep standing for nearly 3 hours, waiting for my turn. Post-surgery, I was in extreme pain but I saw them asking even elderly patients to wait. Some had come with their food and water from home, knowing that it would take them the whole day at the hospital.I am educated and know where to get my X-ray, but for those who couldn’t read it was a merry-go-round. The male workers inside are rough and treat your body like a piece of log. Pulling, shoving and pushing according to the X-ray machine.

I saw that there was a steady flow of patients in the hospital and a long queue at the payment counter only meant that the hospital was making a lot of money. Then why don’t they provide basic comfort to the patients which would ease their agony? Almost all the patients were getting irritated and complaining about this system, but no one gave them a hearing.
As it is, you are at the hospital because you are ill and this type of treatment of ill patients is deplorable.

Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital

27. I spoke to my lawyer and the local consumer forum, but they ask for a load of evidence, which I didn’t have. I have lived through it and I didn’t know then that I had to take pictures or record voices to complain later.

This is just a summary of the trauma I went through, so you can imagine the permanent scars it has left in my psyche and created a phobia for hospitals and doctors.

Will I and the hoards of patients at the hospital ever get justice? Will anyone check what is going on there?
I am looking for answers!!

I wrote about this Doctor’s Negligence at MJ Naidu Hospital on August 31, 2014, on my old blog. Reposting it again.

PS: AP Medical Council Cancels Medical license 

Do read about Bizarre Surgeries these days