The father of an infant named Pujan, who died at a private hospital in Lakdikapul on Monday, has lodged a police complaint alleging medical negligence as the birthday of another terminally ill three-year-old was celebrated inside the ICU. However, hospital authorities denied medical negligence and maintained that the parents of the infant were told that the chances of survival of their baby were slim as he had been on ventilator support since being referred to the hospital.

On Monday, three-year-old Sharvani, suffering from a degenerative and progressive genetic disorder, had celebrated her birthday in the ICU by cutting a cake. Her father, Mr Rajnikanth, knew that the chances of his daughter’s survival were poor and thus wanted to celebrate her birthday. While Sharvani is unable to speak, she is aware of her surroundings, said sources. A few hours later, Pujan, another critically ill infant who had been on ventilator support for the last one-and-a-half months, died. This triggered tension in the hospital and Pujan’s father, CRPF constable Srinivas Rao, alleged negligence and lodged a complaint.

Saifabad police inspector V. Umender said, “Late on Monday morning, eight-month-old Pujan died. His father Srinivas Rao told us that the death of his son was due to medical negligence as the hospital authorities had allowed birthday celebrations of another child, disturbing the patients. We have registered a complaint and the body has been sent to OGH for post-mortem.”

Meanwhile, denying negligence on part of the hospital management, consultant of Lotus Children’s Hospital, Dr M. Sridhar, said, “Purely on humanitarian grounds, we had allowed Sharvani’s parents to celebrate her birthday for a few minutes by cutting a cake. They knew this might be her last birthday. There was no disturbance or noise. Three qualified doctors were present in the ICU at the time. Pujan’s death could have happened any time. He suffered from severe fits, cardiac problems and brain damage as blood supply to the brain might have suffered.”