Same doctor does it again

She died on Sunday after remaining unconscious for 24 days.

This time, the victim is a three and a half year-old son of another day labourer, now fighting for life at the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH).

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The urinary bladder and intestine of the baby were perforated during hernia operation at the private clinic. Infection has spread inside his belly.

Polash's parents are shading tears beside his bed as RMCH doctors have little hope for his full recovery from the damage done during the operation at the clinic.

Polash's parents Sayed Ali and Parul sometimes used to take him to RMCH from their house at Dangapara village in Durgapur upazila for treatment of his hernia.

In early August, Prafulla, a broker of Nazma Clinic in the city, advised Sayed that his son needed an operation at a clinic.

On August 18, Prafulla escorted Sayed Ali, Parul and their son to Nazma Clinic in the city.

At around 10.30am next morning, Polash was put on the operation table.

Dr Sarmin Sultana, medical officer of Paba Upazila Health and Family Welfare Center, performed the operation while an assistant professor of RMCH, Dr Intekhab Alam, applied anesthesia.

The clinic authorities started avoiding Polash's attendants after the operation and kept the child at the clinic for two more days though they had earlier said he would be released within 12 hours, Polash's mother Parul told a group of newsmen.

Seeing her child's swollen abdomen in the afternoon of August 21, Parul wailed and shouted at the clinic authorities.

The clinic authorities took Polash to RMCH at about mid night on August 21.

It is alleged that the clinic authorities forcibly took away all papers and prescriptions from Polash's parents before admitting him to RMCH.

RMCH doctors found Polash in a critical stage. After a thorough investigation and tests they found that his belly was swollen with leaked urine and the hernia operation at the clinic was "unsuccessful".

The herniotomy of the child was "not touched" in the operation at the clinic. Rather his intestine and urinary bladder were perforated during the operation, RMCH doctors wrote on the patient's note.

On August 23, Prof Kamal M Chowdhury and Asstt Prof Hasan Sarwar of pediatric ward at RMCH in another operation relieved the baby of his Hernia problem and also cured the intestinal obstruction.

But the senior doctors found the leakage in the child's urinary bladder "incurable at least for the time being" and decided to wait several days till the "leaked point dry up and become ready for mending".

Talking to The Daily Star, Prof Chowdhury said the baby would be operated upon once again soon to cure the perforation at his urinary bladder.

"We are not yet certain of Polash's life, but it is clear that his parents must spend a huge amount of money in future ", Chowdhury said replying to a question.

If the third operation fails to do any good to the patient, he will be sent to Dhaka, he said.

When contacted, Nazma Clinic Director Reaz Uddin denied that Polash was wrongly operated. The baby developed intestinal obstruction, which is a common post-operation complexity.

When asked, he declined to show papers on treatment of the patient.

Dr Sharmin Sultana, talking to this correspondent however claimed that the leakage in the child's urinary bladder was not done during operation by her. She claimed that the hospital doctors might have done it during the second operation.

Denying this, RMCH Asstt Prof Dr Hasan Sarwar said the baby was admitted to RMCH with leakage in his urinary bladder.

Last month, as Rashida did not regain sense after operation, a probe team led by Rajshahi civil surgeon found that Dr Sharmin Sultana was only specialised in Gynaecology and emergency surgery.

She had no training on 'professional surgery' but she was practicing at the clinic, sources at the civil surgeon's office alleged.

The probe team also revealed that the clinic was operating in the city without any registration and necessary infrastructure and equipment.

The probe also found that operations were done at the clinic in a "non-sterile environment risking patients' life". It was doing business using the name of the deputy director of Rajshahi divisional health department on its signboard.

Dr Sharmin also said that she did "hundreds of operations so far and have one year internship training, six months' training on Gynae, five months' training on medicine, one month's training on surgery and one year training on Emergency Obstetric Care at DMCH (Dhaka Medical College Hospital)".

Asked why she operated upon the child at the private clinic on August 19 avoiding her official duty at Paba Upazila Health and Family Welfare Center, she said she went to Paba Health Complex just after the operation.

"Hundreds of government doctors with minimum training have been operating at hundreds of unregistered clinics in the city...Why should you then cover only me?" Dr Sharmin asked this correspondent at one stage.

She also said that the deputy director of heath department, who is to survey unregistered clinics, was randomly practicing at unregistered private clinics.

Dr Reaz Uddin, the deputy director however told that he never did any operation in any sub-standard clinic.

Dr Sharmin also informed that she paid nearly Tk 6,500 for better treatment of Polash and used to give his mother Tk 100 to Tk 200 whenever she visited her.

It was also alleged that the clinic authorities yesterday threatened Polash's mother not to talk to newsman over the issue.

One Rajib from the clinic met her yesterday morning at the hospital and rebuked her for talking to journalists.

Dr Intekhab Alam of RMCH who applied aneasthesia before Polash's operation at the clinic also allegedly threatened her for talking to journalists.

When contacted, Alam said he just told her to tell journalists the truth.

Asked why he, being a dignified doctor, works at the unregistered private clinic, he said, "If I don't go here, any less qualified doctor will do the job and the situation would be more dangerous".