We recently had our newborn girl treated at Columbia Asia hospital in Kolkata. While the treatment was ok, certain management issues have forced me to register this complaint.
On Diwali night while going to sleep, my wife noticed that one leg of the baby cot/crib beside her own bed suddenly broke and the cot would have fallen with unimaginable consequences to our 11 day old baby. It was due to sheer presence of mind that an accident was averted. There is no excuse for such 'freak' accident in a hospital of that repute. Medical equipment must meet standards and perform throughout their rated life, and especially in the case of equipment for infants.
What compounds my concern is that on the next day, another baby cot (probably from the same maker in Chennai) also broke, this time in the n-NICU. When I went and pointed this out to a senior hospital official (probably CSM), all they had to offer was 'sorry' and a promise to check them regularly. The problem is that the equipment is defective and no matter how much you check, they will probably fail when you are least prepared. I asked the official to take strictest action and inform me of the action taken.
No one has responded so far.
The apathy of the administration in such critical matters is frightening. This incident caused us a lot of distress and we do not know which hospital to trust. All this when headlines throughout news channels are screaming about baby deaths in hospitals in Kolkata. We couldn't believe such an incident (actually two in a short span) could occur at Columbia Asia and sincerely request them be careful and to identify and change faulty equipment immediately. Baby cots certainly are not hi-tech equipment and could easily be replaced with those made from good material and workmanship from a proper supplier.
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