HT DIGITAL
GUWAHATI, AUGUST 20: After the demise of a newborn at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Bhangagarh Police arrested sister-in-charge Bhanupriya Mishong on Tuesday evening (August 19). The move was ordered by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Shortly afterwards, Mishong’s fellow employees converged at Bhangagarh Police Station in protest at what they called an unfair action over the NICU episode.
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As per staff nurses, the arrest in front of the media caused commotion because a number of nurses wanted to know why only Bhanupriya was detained when there were others working that evening. They indicated that five nurses, including Bhanupriya, and two doctors—Puja and Rishikesh—were on duty in the NICU, alongside two ward girls and two cleaners.
The agitating nurses accused Bhanupriya of being unfairly targeted, though several other staff members were present. They also complained that the room for which she was in charge had 35 newborns, as against the reported 26, and charged Superintendent and Principal Achyut Baishya with dishonesty.
Friends described how Bhanupriya had temporarily gone out to boil milk when the accident happened. Three nurses ideally would have been on duty in the room, but because of staff shortages, she was left by herself.
The nurses insisted that responsibility should be distributed equally among everyone who was on duty, as opposed to singling out a single employee. They also complained that one of the warmers applied to newborns in the NICU was in disrepair, citing underlying infrastructural shortcomings at GMCH.
Following a medical examination, Bhanupriya was transferred to Panbazar Police Station. Nurses also said the incident points to not only individual oversights but serious systemic and infrastructural failures in the hospital.
