Janakpurdham, September 18
A doctor at the Provincial Hospital in Janakpurdham was allegedly assaulted by relatives of a woman who had arrived at the hospital for maternity services.
Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Saroj Sah was allegedly beaten during a dispute over the need for a Caesarean section (C-section), according to the hospital.
Hospital Information Officer Dr Ramgyan Yadav said the woman’s condition was considered complex and doctors had determined that she needed to undergo a C-section.
Before the surgery, Dr Sah counselled the patient’s relatives about the procedure and asked them to sign a high-risk consent form acknowledging the possible risks associated with the surgery.
However, the relatives refused to sign the consent form and allegedly demanded that the doctor guarantee that nothing would go wrong.
“The patient needed a C-section and the relatives had to sign the high-risk consent form,” Yadav said. “But they said they would not sign it and demanded that the doctor take responsibility if anything happened.”
Yadav said obtaining consent from a patient’s relatives before surgery, particularly in high-risk cases, is part of the hospital’s standard protocol and is intended to ensure that possible complications are understood.
According to Yadav, the situation escalated after some of the woman’s relatives allegedly used abusive language against Dr Sah.
“When we asked them not to use abusive language, they started recording the doctor on video and assaulting him,” Yadav said.
He said two or three young men and two women were allegedly involved in the assault.
Following the incident, those allegedly involved fled the hospital premises with the woman who had come for maternity care, Yadav said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Om Prasad Khanal, spokesperson for the District Police Office, Dhanusha, said police had arrested one person in connection with the incident.
Dr Sah sustained injuries to his face and various parts of his body in the assault.
