Calcutta, Aug. 27: A woman today filed a complaint at Shakespeare Sarani police station against the Bhagirathi Neotia Women and Child Care Centre for not admitting her daughter, who was scheduled to undergo an operation there, citing lack of beds.

Leslie Anneyee has alleged that her 13-year-old daughter was kept waiting for nearly four hours before the doctor decided to cancel her surgery. This, her complaint said, amounted to negligence.

The hospital authorities said “the question of neglecting any patient simply does not arise”.

“Some patients were scheduled to be discharged this morning and we thought accommodating the girl would not be a problem. Unfortunately, those patients were not discharged and the hospital was full. We could not forcibly discharge anyone to accommodate another patient,” Soma Chakraborty, assistant manager of the hospital’s corporate relations, said.

Anneyee said her daughter Natalie complained of pain in the abdomen a few days ago. She was examined by Dr Nasser Iqbal, who referred her to the hospital for an appendicitis operation and the operation theatre was booked.

She was brought to the hospital this morning around eight on an empty stomach, but the doctor turned up only at 12.30 pm. Her parents vented their fury at Dr Iqbal and the operation was cancelled.

“After reaching the hospital, I found the girl pacing up and down the corridor. She told me she was very hungry and exhausted. I felt very bad and asked her have her meal,” the doctor said.

Gana Nath Mukherjee, the officer-in-charge of Shakespeare Sarani police station, confirmed the complaint had been filed.