KOPPAL: Parents of a baby born prematurely at Mother and Child Hospital here were left in shock and dismay after the hospital authorities on Tuesday handed over the body of a dead newborn boy to them, saying it was their child, although they were earlier informed about the birth of a girl.
While the couple concerned said they will file a police complaint over the mix-up, the hospital has assured that a DNA test will be conducted.
Mom says Koppal hospital staff never showed her newborn’s face properly
The hospital has told the couple that a DNA test will be conducted to get to the bottom of the truth.
Gauri, 24, had given birth at seven months on Sept 25. The hospital staff consistently referred to the newborn as a girl.
Even in the official documents provided to the couple by the hospital, the child was identified as a girl. Gauri complained she was never shown the baby’s face properly, while the child was being treated in the neonatal care unit due to low birth weight.
When Gauri and her husband Kanakappa received the body of the dead newborn, they were astounded to find out that the child was a boy.
They then pleaded with the doctors to have access to the girl that they were initially told was theirs, but the couple claimed the doctors and hospital staff were evasive in their response.
Dr Venugopal, the district hospital director-in-charge, said: “The birth registration record shows the baby [in question] was a boy, but the problem arose because the K-sheet [that contains details about all hospital inmates] mentioned the newborn as a girl. A DNA test will be conducted in keeping with the parents’ demand.” An expert committee, headed by district surgeon Dr Krishna Omkar, has been formed to question the doctors and staff on duty on the day of the delivery. The committee has been told to submit its report within two days.
The Mother and Child Hospital in Koppal had courted controversy on several occasions in the past regarding the death of newborn girls and alleged switching of babies.
There have also been complaints that past inquiry committees formed to probe the hospital’s ineptitude were anything but impartial, as the committee members were all from the very hospital that was being investigated.