Srinagar, May 3 (GNS): A pregnant woman in Anantnag district died for “want of timely care” as she was shuttled from one hospital to another in south Kashmir district when her condition deteriorated on Sunday.
The authorities at the two hospitals—Sub District Hospital Seer Hamadan Anantnag, where she was admitted initially, and Child and Maternity Hospital Sheerbagh Anantnag, where she was “declared dead”, blamed each other.
On the other hand, the authorities have suspended a doctor and a nurse. Financial Commissioner Atal Dulloo (IAS) vowed strong action against those found guilty of negligence while divisional Commissioner Kashmir called for “record on lapses.”
A relative of the woman—Shakeela Bano wife of Zahoor Bhat of Salia Panzmullah village—told GNS that she was admitted at around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday (May 2) to SDH Seer Hamdan.
“The doctors at SDH Seer saw her and administered IV fluids. However as her conditions started to deteriorate, they remained indifferent to the gravity of the situation,” he said.
At around 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, he said, the woman was referred to MCH Anantnag but it was too late as she died.
“Had the doctors at SDH carried emergency cesarean or referred her to MCH Anantnag well on time, she would have survived,” he said, adding, “When her condition worsened, the doctors referred her to MCH Anantnag but she was almost dead. The delay in referring the woman to MCH Anantnag is nothing but sheer negligence on the part of doctors.”
He said that on reaching MCH, the woman was declared “brought dead on arrival” to the health facility.
To add to the agony of the family, he said, the authorities at MCH Anantnag did not provide the ambulance or any other vehicle to carry the body to the native village for last rites.
Instead, he said, the hospital authorities spread lies that the body was taken by the attendants without proper procedure.
“It is all false. All formalities including postmortem were carried and the death certificate was issued. It is only after completing these formalities, they handed over the body. And despite requests, the administration did not provide any vehicle,” he said, adding, “We later carried the body on a trolley up to 3 kilometers and later our relatives sent us a vehicle and we boarded the body and took it to the village.”
Dr Saleem Beigh, BMO Mattan said that woman was admitted under normal conditions. “Given the fact that her last delivery was normal, the consultant gynae decided to wait for normal delivery,” he said.
“At around 6 a.m. the concerned doctor decided to shift her to MCH Anantnag as there is no facility for cesarean section in the SDH while such facilities are available at MCH,” he said, adding, “the woman was alive and in good health when she was shifted.”
However, medical Superintendent Child and Maternity Hospital Anantnag, Dr Syed Mirji Andrabi told GNS that the woman was brought dead. “The woman was dead by the time she was brought to the hospital,” he said.
Meanwhile, authorities have ordered a time-bound inquiry into the incident. Pending inquiry, the authorities have also ordered the suspension of a doctor— Dr Ridwana and a nurse—Zareefa Akhtar, who attended the patient at SDH Seer Hamadan.
The Deputy Commissioner Anantnag has appointed Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ghulam Hassan Sheikh, as an inquiry officer and asked to furnish a “detailed report” within three days.
Financial Commissioner, Health & Medical Education, Atal Dulloo, when contacted by GNS said: “Stringent action will be taken against those who are found at fault.”
Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Pandurang K Pole told GNS that he has called “report on lapses.” “Action, as warranted under law, will be taken,” he added.
The incident happened a week after a pregnant woman died after giving birth to stillborn twins at MCH Anantnag. A resident of a red zone area, her samples returned positive for Covid-19 a day later. (GNS)
