Weeks after the death of AIIMS nurse Rajbir Kaur due to medical negligence, the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department faculty has written to the hospital administration, informing about the non-functional apparatuses in the maternity operation theatre.

The letter was written to Medical Superintendent D.K. Sharma on February 21 after the services of a senior resident doctor of the anesthesia department was terminated. The committee that took the decision allegedly ignored the gynaecology team's fault during Kaur's Cesarean surgery, due to which she died on February 4. "This is to bring to your notice that the maternity OT complex is a high risk area and, therefore, to run the emergency patient care services, it is necessary to have two fully functional theatres," says the letter, a copy of which is with IANS.

Mentioning the non-functional back tables in the operation theatres, the letter says: "The anesthesia machine was purchased in 2014 by Department of Anesthesia. The funds for purchase were then transferred by the gynaecology department. However, there is some fault in the oxygen sensor and spivo sensor and needs replacement." "The anesthesia machine on the front table has also gone out of order and, therefore, another anesthesia machine has been borrowed from the Department of Anesthesia for running of services," said the letter.

The letter has the signatures of Seema Singhal, a faculty with gynaecology department and who also was involved in Kaur's surgery, during which allegedly several surgical protocols were violated. The other two doctors whose signatures the letter has are Juhi Bharti and K.K. Roy. In the letter, the doctors have also urged the administration to get the maternity operation theatre fully functional. "It is necessary to have two fully, functional maternity OT complexes so that two emergency cases can be managed simultaneously for maximum patient care services," said the letter.

The doctors put an incision without giving any form of anesthesia or ensuring airway before starting Kaur's Ceaserian-section besides operating on her on the back table, which is strictly prohibited as it is only for minor gynaecology-related examinations. The operation theatre in which Kaur was operated had only one front table instead of two, which was occupied by some other patient.