Two obstetrics specialists landed in trouble after leaving a critically bleeding patient, who subsequently died, just to go for a drink. The High Court in Malaysia’s Selangor state ordered the maternity centre to pay 6 million ringgit (US$1.3 million) to the deceased’s family.
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Judge Norliza Othman delivered the decision after finding Dr M Shanmugam, Dr A Ravi, nurses Izaniey Nataliah Jukimin, Nur Aida Mat Isa and Nessy Yasah guilty of medical negligence, which resulted in the patient’s death while under their care.
According to Sinar Harian, in the judgment uploaded to the judicial system on Thursday, Norliza said that during proceedings, the court was told that M Punita, after delivering her second child, began to experience severe bleeding after her placenta was removed.
She added that assurances were given that the patient was stable, following which the two doctors left the delivery room and placed the deceased under the care of three unregistered nurses.
The judge noted that although the nurses were not qualified by the health ministry, they were tasked with monitoring the patient’s condition.
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“However, the deceased’s mother found that her daughter was bleeding heavily, and the nurses tried to stop it by using cotton.
“The patient was later transferred to Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Klang (HTAR) in critical condition.