Varanasi, May 1 -- The Institute of Medical Sciences-Banaras Hindu University (IMS-BHU) has initiated disciplinary action against 14 staff members after a 71-year-old woman was mistakenly taken to the wrong operation theatre earlier this March. Radhika Devi, a resident of Ballia, who was admitted for a spinal tumour surgery, was erroneously shifted to the orthopaedics operation theatre (OP) instead of neurosurgery due to a mix-up with another patient of the same name, an 82-year-old woman admitted for hip surgery. According to a fact-finding committee, the medical team made an incision on her hip before realising the error. The incision was immediately stitched, and she was sent back to neurosurgery, where she later underwent the planned tumour operation. Despite initial recovery, the patient's condition worsened due to cardiac arrest, and she died on March 27. The report stated that the death cannot be directly attributed to the mistaken incision. The inquiry found negligence in patient identity verification, noting that both patients shared the same name and were placed in the same pre-operative area. The committee recommended action against 14 individuals, including doctors and support staff from the orthopaedics, anaesthesia, neurosurgery and nursing departments. Meanwhile, the second patient underwent successful hip surgery. IMS-BHU has since mandated stricter patient identification protocols, including compulsory wrist tagging and verification procedures....