Pregnant women will die on roads if hospital behave irresponsibly: Doctors
Srinagar May 03 (KNB): At least 10 frontline workers including two doctors have been sent into quarantine after a pregnant woman from a red zone was found positive for the coronavirus on Saturday at Kashmir’s lone maternity hospital- Lalla Ded (LD).
A pregnant woman from Tailwani village, a red zone area, in Anantnag district was found positive for coronavirus after she had a normal delivery at LD hospital.
Quoting family members, officials at LD hospital said pregnant lady was not allowed to comedown from ambulance at Mother and Childcare Hospital (MCH) Anantnag and was referred to SKIMS Bemina Srinagar.
At SKIMS Bemina, the authorities knowing woman belonged to a red zone, again denied her the entry into the hospital, they said.
From there she was referred to LD hospital, without documentation which could have alerted the doctors about her travel from a red zone, officials said.
“Our doctors didn’t know patient has come from red zone until her report came positive for coronavirus today. Her husband hide the referral letter and genuinely so because patient was denied admission in two hospitals which made him scared for the safety of his wife,” they said.
Patient’s sample for coronavirus was taken on March 30 in Anantnag and today she was declared positive for the virus.
“If hospitals don’t guide patients properly, such things will happen and we will have to face serious consequences. Our pregnant women will die on roads if hospitals shun their responsibility,” doctors said.
LD is the premier maternity hospital in Kashmir and supposed to deal with high risk pregnancies. However, during the CoVID-19 pandemic, the hospital is flooded with patients who could be treated in peripheries.
“LD is last hope for pregnant women. We couldn’t send the patient back because both mother and child would have died on road,” doctors said.
Medical Superintendent of LD hospital Dr Shabir Siddique said, “We have sent two doctors and eight health workers into quarantine after a lady who was under treatment in our hospital tested positive for coronavirus.”
Health workers at LD hospital said if anyone among them tested positive for coronavirus they would file case of culpable homicide against SKIMS Bemina Principal Dr Reyaz Untoo and MCH Anantnag authorities.
“We will file a case under 304 IPC against SKIMS Bemina Principal and MCH Anantnag authorities if anyone among us was found positive for Coronavirus. They have failed to alert us that they have sent a patient from red zone to LD,” they said.
Woman’s family members confirmed they were denied admission at both MCH Anantnag and SKIMS Bemina. “I was fearing my wife should not die on road. Two hospital denied us admission what should have donen” said Javid Ahmad, pregnant woman’s husband.
Doctors at LD said if the normal pregnancies were not delivered in periphery, human resource in tertiary care hospitals would get overstretched. “If normal pregnancies are handed like this, our doctors and paramedics will obviously contract coronavirus. Our human resource will get over stretched and we may reach to a point where we will have to shut the hospital,” they said.(KNB)
