Other States - Orissa   

SCB authorities’ charge against nurse

CUTTACK: In a shocking incident, the SCB Medical College and Hospital authorities on Wednesday detected an ‘unethical’ practice when a staff nurse was trying to draw blood from a genetic disorder patient and her father without the knowledge of the treating surgeon.

The patient was none other than the 16-year-old tribal girl Rebati Kahnra who was admitted to the periodontal wing of the hospital last month for her unusual ape-like features of having protruding jaws and massive hair growth in the entire body.

“We have verified the incident and came to know that a staff nurse of plastic surgery department has taken the blood samples of Rebati and her father Balkrushna Kahanra without permission from the treating periodontal plastic surgeon Suryakant Narendra,” said hospital superintendent D.N. Moharana.

Since Rebati’s disorder has been recently acknowledged as a “rare” case by an American journal, researchers working on chromosomal analysis have started taking keen interest in the case to procure valuable medical records.

For this reason only, the hospital authorities had been trying to keep the patient and her father in closely guarded cabin.

On the other hand, the staff nurse, who is now being accused of stealing the blood samples, claims that she was asked by Dr. Pratima Sahu, an assistant professor of bio-chemistry department to get blood samples of the patient. “I have no role in the entire development. I was simply carrying out the orders of a doctor,” the nurse said.

“Dr. Sahu, wife of plastic surgery professor Arun Choudhury, has reportedly opened a genetic laboratory sponsored by ICMR inside the plastic surgery department”, said the hospital superintendent.

It was also learnt that Dr. Sahu has the permission, by virtue of an old order (copy of which is yet to be traced), to get the blood samples of any genetically disorder patient admitted in hospital to carry on her research.

But Dr. Narendra alleges that a racket is now very much active in the hospital to steal valuable and rare research material with an aim to supply them to foreign agencies in return of massive considerations.

“I suspect a foul intention behind the entire incident,” said Dr. Narendra, who has already performed at least five surgical operations on Rebati.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Uncertainty shrouds engineering counselling
OERC directive to discoms
Action against non-payment of bills
Teenager cuts his tongue
Justice Chauhan sworn in CJ of HC
Students ‘beaten up’ for asking for stipend
A replay of 6-year-old trick by naxalites
Tibetan refugees take out rally
Congress holds ‘jail bharo’ at Sambalpur
SCB authorities’ charge against nurse
‘Few in Congress at grassroots level know about N-deal’

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu