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BHU Probes Wrong-Patient Surgery After Name Mix-Up

A reconstituted BHU panel faces a 10-day deadline to explain how the wrong-patient error occurred.

Overview

  • IMS-BHU confirmed that surgeons began operating on the wrong patient on March 7 after a name mix-up in its trauma centre.
  • The orthopaedics team stopped after an incision showed normal thigh bone, and the patient later received the intended spine operation on March 18.
  • The woman died on March 27 after respiratory distress, and her grandson filed a complaint on April 1 alleging the error caused complications.
  • A four-member fact-finding committee, reconstituted on April 13, now has 10 days to report, with the director saying action will follow its findings.
  • Reports point to two inpatients with the identical name Radhika Devi—ages 71 in neurosurgery and 82 in orthopaedics—as a key identification failure that could spur tighter ID checks and consent protocols at the teaching hospital.