The medical condition of Jyoti, the 2012 Delhi rape victim and what went wrong in her management!

 In India, repeatedly political interference has been seen in management of patients. The medical organizations and doctors have been mute spectators of this wrong act. Such interference has led to wrong decisions being pushed on the medical fraternity that has led even to death of patients. The same happened in the case of the New Delhi 2012 rape victim, Jyoti. She was shifted overseas to a hospital in Singapore in a non-transportable condition. She succumbed later to the severity of her injuries. She had bleak chances of survival but even these chances were nullified by the wrong advice pushed on doctors at that time to counteract the national and international anger and outrage against the rape incident.

Jyoti Singh, the rape victim (Source: Crime scene database)

Jyoti and her medical condition

Jyoti, the unfortunate rape victim (New Delhi 2012) was severely injured during the gang rape. The rape shook the world due to its sheer brutal nature. There were six rapists on that night of December 2012. Jyoti and her male friend boarded a bus to reach their home after watching an evening show of a movie in the capital of India. Little did they know that the five people in the bus whom they assumed were passengers were part of the gang that turned rapists that fateful night.

Jyoti's male friend who survived the incident (Source: Zent Sun)

They had inserted rods in the vagina of Jyoti and thrown her and her male friend out of the bus to die on the streets. The internal injuries were so grave that most of Jyoti’s intestines had gone gangrenous and very little of it was left. She would have required an intestinal transplant later but after her condition stabilized. She had gained consciousness in between and had expressed her desire to live to her parents.

The international fury

There was immense reaction from people worldwide on hearing about the rape incident. Peaceful protests and severe criticism followed and people used candles and other modes to express their anguish at the incident. Everyone demanded arrest of the rapists and death sentence for them. The government was pushed to shame by this ghastly act. They could find no words or action and did not know where to hide their face.

The sobbing but courageous parents of Nirbhaya (Source: Friday magazine)

In order to show the world that they have done something for the rape victim, the child was flown to Singapore for an intestinal transplant. But she was too critical to be transported by any mode of transport. Her air transfer made no medical sense. People wondered how the doctors treating Jyoti had agreed for transferring Jyoti in such a bad condition when she was unfit for transfer to any center in India leave apart overseas.

The rape incident happened on 16 December 2012 and on 26 December 2012 she was flown 4000 km to Mount Elizabeth Hospital in Singapore. She died 48 hours later. But on arrival in Singapore, the medical records state that she was brought in a very bad shape and on support.

What doctors say anonymously?

One of the treating doctors from Delhi’s reputed hospital, AIIMS, who asked not to be named said:

“It was ethically and morally wrong to have taken her out, given that she was sinking and her chances of survival were next to zero at that stage,” 

“Such a thing raises false hopes in the minds of the family, the community. No doctor in his right mind would do this, unless you want to get the patient off your back,”

This doctor also revealed that those who wanted to talk to the media about this were threatened by the government that they would face serious consequences if they did so.

Jyoti's brave mother. Wish all mothers are like her! (Source: Maps of India)

Also, read the whole account of the making of India's Daughter, the BBC documentary on 2012 Delhi rape case

Another doctor from New Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital where she was admitted said that the victim was in the best hands in India and why she was shifted to Singapore should be answered by the government who forced the decision on the doctors.

People felt that there would have been trouble if the victim had died in New Delhi. The government defended their decision and said that it was for the well-being of the patient. But they should know that doctors are responsible for decisions of transfer and no other person even if he or she is a VIP can force a doctor to do something that does not stand to reason in medicine and ethics.

An unpressurized doctor would have thought about the whole condition of the patient and waited for shifting her to Singapore for intestinal transplant. They would have first stabilized her for the surgery. Anyway intestinal transplant for Jyoti was months away from the day that she was shifted. Then why shift her in haste and against her medical condition? It was not the demand at that time but still it was done. Samiran Nundy, the head of surgical gastroenterology and organ transplantation at the Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi had said:

“One cannot think about intestinal transplant at this moment,”

“First, the infection spreading in her should be stopped, then one can think about transplant.”

The actual shift

None of the family members had a passport. Their travel documents were readied in no time. Medanta Medicity, a private medical centre which runs an air ambulance service was given the charge to shift the girl to Singapore. The other options were Cambridge, the UK and Toronto, Canada. But due to distance these were dropped. And instead Singapore was chosen which were 6 hours of flight time away. Dr. Yatin Mehta who heads the Medicity said that he had to decide whether she can be airlifted or not and not whether she should go to Singapore or not. He added that they handed her over to the medical authorities in Singapore in the same condition that they flew with her. She only suffered a slight fall in blood pressure during the whole flight.

In order to dodge the paparazzi, the Medicity did a ploy. Three ambulances took off from the Delhi hospital. One went to the city center, another took to Medanta Center and the third with the patient and her relatives went to a specially created part of Delhi international airport. They thus managed to give the TV crews and people a slip.

Singapore hospital authorities said that she was fighting for her life. She had a previous cardiac arrest and there was infection in her abdomen and lungs. She also had significant brain injury. But they were unable to save her. At 9.30 pm, her relatives were told that the end is near. They were allowed to sit beside her. Her heart rate dropped slowly and became zero. The time was 4.05 am at that time.  

Later, the government said that they had no idea on who had decided to send the patient to Singapore. And the medical organization of India remained mum on it. And it continues to be silent on many other such problems ailing the medical field in India.