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Declared stillborn, found alive later

Raktima Bose

KOLKATA: The condition of the two-day-old infant, who was declared stillborn at a reputed clinic here only to be found alive less than 12 hours later, was critical but stable on Wednesday. He is on ventilator and radiant warmer, doctors said.

“The baby was premature at 24 weeks and has developed severe respiratory, kidney and heart complications,” said Dr. Kakali Acharya, one of the paediatricians treating the baby at the Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI).

Dr. Acharya sounded sceptical about the baby’s survival chances. “Such premature babies have very little chance of survival.”

The baby was born around 1.20 a.m. on Tuesday to Sangita Das, a resident of the Howrah district, at the Belle Vue clinic. His father, Manas Kumar Das, alleged: “There was no doctor on duty to attend on my wife during delivery. There were only three nurses and a resident medical officer (RMO) at that time who declared the baby stillborn.”

He said the clinic staff informed them about the baby’s death at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday, almost 10 hours after the delivery. The baby’s heart was beating when a junior doctor tested him before writing the death certificate. He was immediately transferred to the CMRI.

Dr. Gautam Khastagir, under whom Ms. Sangita was undergoing treatment, was not available at night and arrived only on Tuesday morning.

Legal action

A complaint has been lodged at the local police station. “We are consulting lawyers to take legal action against the clinic,” Mr. Das said.

The police have initiated an inquiry.

Pradip Tandon, chief executive officer of the clinic, said: “We have started an internal inquiry and stern action will be taken if any doctor or nurse is found to be at fault.”

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