KATHMANDU: The controversy surrounding the death of a newborn in Himal Nursing Home (HNH) came to a close today as both the parties - aggrieved family members and nursing home authorities - reached an agreement.

Tension flared in the nursing home yesterday after a baby born to Sangita Thapa of Tikathali, Lalitpur, died instantly in the labour room.

But the next of kin had attributed the death to the ‘negligence’ of hospital authorities, something the nursing home had objected to.

Talking to The Himalayan Times, Kishor Silwal, the father of the deceased newborn, informed that the hospital management had agreed to provide a financial assistance of Rs 1.4 million for the construction of an additional one storey library hall for the academic building of Shree Narayan Primary School located in Tikathali VDC- 8, from where the next of kin comes.

The one storey hall will house collections of library books as compensation for the death of the newborn, he said. Silwal said the library hall will carry the shared name of Silwal and managing director of HNH Dr Pabitra Jung Rayamajhi.

The hospital has agreed to provide the amount in two installments. The agitating family members are bent on their demand that the nursing home take stringent action against the guilty and make an avowed commitment that they would not repeat the mistake hereafter.

Earlier, the hospital authorities had requested the police to carry out an investigation.

Meanwhile, Silwal said the initial report had pleaded guilty and admitted the negligence of hospital management and health officials, including Dr Jyoti Agrawal, who he said came to the nursing home an hour after the death of the newborn.

“The hospital authorities intentionally let the newborn die. Had the doctors and birth attendants paid enough attention, the baby could have been saved,” claimed Silwal. He accused HNH of not assigning experts and gynaecologists for emergency care.

“They sent novices, that too nurses,” blamed Silwal adding that Dr Agrawal arrived the hospital only to pronounce the death. “My wife (Sangita) was her patient, but Dr Jyoti

Agrawal came one hour after the death,” he claimed. Chairperson of HNH Dr Lok Bikram Thapa quoted nurses as saying that the mother’s health history wasn’t normal and had frequently suffered from bleeding and water discharge.

According to the nurses

who attended the delivery, Sangita gave stillbirth and the baby did not cry, which they argued was ‘abnormal’.