Himalayan News Service

Biratnagar, July 28:

Doctors involved in the treatment of a newborn at the Koshi Zonal Hospital on January 14, 2005 admitted at a press conference organised by the hospital today that the boy had become

a handicap as his spine was burnt because a bag containing hot water, which was used to keep the boy warm, leaked onto the boy’s body during treatment. Uddhav Prasad and Durga Sapkota, residents of Gaighat, had brought their two-day-old son to the hospital for treatment on January 14, 2005. The boy was exposed to hot water as the bag leaked. Dr RP Bichchha, the attending doctor, referred the infant to another hospital only after the boy’s condition worsened. The medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr Ganesh Gurung, said, “As the baby was suffering from Neonatal Septicemla and Severare Hypothermia, his chance of survival was 10 per cent.” According to Dr RP Bichchha, since the hospital didn’t have an incubator, temperature had to be controlled through a bag containing boiled water. The baby’s spine was burnt due to leakage of water. As a result of treatment, the boy has become blind and can’t lie on his back. Dr Bichchha was sued at the District Administration Office Morang in accordance with the Consumer Protection Act, 2054, article 10 (Nga), on Monday.