A doctor and two senior members of the nursing staff were suspended, and a showcause notice was issued to the head of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics department following the deaths of two women after a total of six new mothers developed complications linked to undergoing C-section procedures at New Medical College Hospital in Kota.
All six women underwent C-section deliveries on May 4. Subsequently, they complained of discomfort, ranging from chest pain to an inability to pass urine. One of the women, Payal (28), died on the morning of May 5, while another, Jyoti Ravi (20), died two days later. Another woman remains in critical condition, officials said.
As per orders issued late on Friday night, Dr Navneet Kumar, associate professor in the department of General Surgery at the hospital, and two senior nursing staff, Gurjit Kaur and Nimish Verma, were suspended following an inquiry into alleged negligence in the treatment of pregnant women admitted on May 3 and 4.
Meanwhile, a showcause notice has been issued to Dr B L Patidar, professor and unit head of the department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, seeking his explanation regarding the incident.
The developments come amid growing scrutiny over maternal healthcare at government facilities in Kota, with authorities indicating that further action may follow based on the outcome of the ongoing investigation.
The second largest healthcare facility in Rajasthan after Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital, the government medical college and hospital in Kota has over 800 doctors, including 600 resident doctors, and caters to 5,000 patients in its Outpatient department each day.
Before the suspension orders were issued, the medical college’s additional principal, R P Meena, had told The Indian Express, “This is the first time in the history of the hospital such cases have been reported. No doctor wants patients to suffer. We did what we could to save lives, but are yet to identify the cause of this problem.”
