Parents of 80% brain dead baby want Kolkata clinic closed

Kolkata, Jan 3 (IANS) Parents of an 80 per cent brain dead one-and-half years old baby boy, who blame the condition on medical negligence, on Tuesday urged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to shut down the private hospital as an exemplary punishment until a full investigation is done.

A police complaint was registered against the hospital on Monday over the condition of the boy, who is said to be "neither dead nor alive".

Photo-journalist Monojit Saha and his wife Sweety Paul Saha have demanded suspension of the medical registration of the accused doctor following deterioration of the condition of their son Avighna after treatment at the Park Clinic in September last year.

"Avighna has suffered severe injuries due to acute hypoxia, with 80 per cent of his upper brain suffering permanent damage," said Kunal Saha, President, People for Better Treatment.

"Although he is still breathing, the playful and happy child has turned almost lifeless and is in a vegetative state due to medical negligence," he said.

A memorandum was sent to Chief Minister Banerjee as well as the state's Health Minister on Tuesday.

The child was "wrongfully injected with concentrated potassium chloride intravenously (I.V.), causing sudden cardiac arrest and acute hypoxic injury to his brain, resulting in 80 per cent brain death".

"It is elementary medical knowledge that concentrated potassium chloride is fatal if given directly as an intravenous injection," Kunal said.

The Saha family said Avighna was admitted under Dr Asit Kanti Paul for mild dehydration and vomiting, and had almost recovered when the hospital injected him with the concentrated medicine.

To cover up the alleged folly, the hospital concocted a story that the child became hypoxic because of aspiration during feeding, they claimed.

"My son is neither dead nor alive. The nurse who administered the injection is absconding. We want the hospital to be shut down and a thorough investigation carried out," Sweety said.