Home / News / Urgent Appeals / SRI LANKA: Medical negligence results in woman in intensive care
 

SRI LANKA: Medical negligence results in woman in intensive care

November 22, 2007

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

22 November 2007
------------------------------------------------------
UA-327-2007: SRI LANKA: Medical negligence results in woman in intensive care

SRI LANKA: Right to life; medical negligence
------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding medical negligence in regard of a woman who has now been in intensive care after caesarian operation on 26 July 2007. Even though she and her family had repeatedly complained her deteriorating condition, nurses simply responded that the victim was mentally ill and didn't provide medical care. The victim has now been in the Intensive Care Unit for the past three months and is dependent upon a life support system.

CASE DETAILS:

On 21 July 2007, Chrishanthi Kumari Dissanayake, was expecting a baby and was admitted to Kandy General Hospital Ward No. 6 and was looked after by the same doctor who had treated her before. She had attended the clinics and doctor said there was no complication.

On July 26, according to the doctor Chrishanthi had difficulties in delivering a baby so that she was given a caesarian operation. When Chrishanthi's husband, Senerath Dissanayake, came to visit her on 28 July, she complained that her right hand was completely numb. When Senerath complained to the nurse on duty, the nurse replied that there were many such cases and something was wrong in her mind. Furthermore, the nurses did not pay attention to Chrishanthi's deteriorating health condition nor took proper action.

After visiting her in hospital, Chrishanthi's brother reported that Chrishanthi looked completely lifeless and was unable to do anything for herself and was unable to feed herself or her child. After her brother informed her other relatives, there was no improvement in her condition, yet the nurses maintained that Chrishanthi was mentally ill.

The victim's sister, Deepa, was shocked at her condition and decided to take her to a different medical centre, but the nurses objected, stating they were responsible for her. After repeated requests from Chrishanthi's family, the nurses replied that there are five doctors available to look after her and assured them there was no need to worry about her. Nevertheless, Chrishanthi's condition continues to deteriorate and she has now got a high fever. Chrishanthi's child is now in her grandmother's care and Chrishanthi has been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and for the last three months, has been surviving with the help of artificial respiration and a life support system. The two doctors who are in charge of ward No 6 are Dr. Kalinga Nanayakkara and Dr. Wimalasiri.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities mentioned below demanding them to conduct impartial investigation into this case without delay and to take disciplinary action against those responsible.

To support this appeal, please click here:

------------------------------------------------------

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: Medical negligence results in woman in intensive care

Name of victim: Chrishanthi Kumari Dissanayake (23), married to Senerath Dissanayake, resident of Kalugala Road Katugastota Chrishanthi
Name of alleged perpetrators: Nurses and Dr. Kalinga Nanayakkara and Dr. Wimalasiri in charge of Ward No. 6, Kandy General Hospital
Date of incident: 26 July 2007 onwards
Place of incident: Ward No. 6, Kandy General Hospital

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding a case of medical negligence, which has resulted in the victim spending the last three months in an Intensive Care Unit.

On 26 July 2007, Chrishanthi Kumari Dissanayake was given a caesarian operation. When Chrishanthi's husband, Senerath Dissanayake, came to visit her on 28 July, she complained that her right hand was completely numb. When Senerath complained to the nurse on duty, he was told that Chrishanthi must be mentally ill.

After visiting her in hospital, Chrishanthi's brother reported that Chrishanthi looked completely lifeless and was unable to do anything for herself and was unable to feed herself or her child. After her brother informed her other relatives, there was no improvement in her condition, yet the nurses maintained that Chrishanthi was mentally ill.

The victim's sister, Deepa, was shocked at her condition and decided to take her to a different medical centre, but the nurses objected, stating they were responsible for her. After repeated requests from Chrishanthi's family, the nurses replied that there are five doctors available to look after her and assured them there was no need to worry about her. Nevertheless, Chrishanthi's condition continues to deteriorate and she has now got a high fever. Chrishanthi's child is now in her grandmother's care and Chrishanthi has been transferred to the Intensive Care Unit and for the last three months, has been surviving with the help of artificial respiration and a life support system. 

I urge your immediate intervention to ensure that a thorough and impartial investigation is conducted as a matter of priority in relation to the hospital authorities serious negligence, which has resulted in the victim being reduced to surviving through a life support system. I am also deeply distressed to find such negligent practices taking place amongst nurses in Sri Lanka, who blatantly ignored the victim's pain and the pleas of her family. I also urge you to provide all possible assistance to her family.

I trust that you will take immediate action in this serious matter

Yours sincerely,


----------------

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Nimal Siripala de Silva, MP
Minister of Healthcare, Nutrition and Uva Wellassa Development
"Suwasiripaya", No.385,
Rev. Baddegama Wimalawansa Thero Mawatha,
Colombo 10
SRI LANKA
Tel & Fax: +94 11 2 662982/ 694132/ 694227
E-mail: Minister@health.gov.Ik

2. Mr. Victor Perera
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk

3. Secretary
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

4. Mr. Paul Hunt
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 90 06

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-327-2007
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.