NEW DELHI, Aug 12: A pregnant woman in Madhya Pradesh was forced to rely on the ‘medical expertise’ of a sanitation worker to deliver her child after neither ambulances nor doctors responded to appeals for help.
Ambulances failed to reach the pregnant woman’s house to take her to the nearest hospital or Primary Health Centre. And, once her family somehow got her to the hospital, there were no doctors or nurses to help, leaving the woman and her unborn child to be delivered by a janitor.
Unsurprisingly, the child did not survive; it died shortly after delivery. The sanitation worker has reportedly been fired. The shocking incident took place around 9 am Sunday in a village called Kharai in Shivpuri district.
In a video widely shared online the sanitation worker admitted to attempting the delivery and that the child had died. She claimed there were no doctors or nurses in the hospital. Local media reports claimed that the doctor posted to the hospital was on leave for the day while the nurse was “missing.”
According to one report when the pregnant woman – identified as Rani, 32, – reached the hospital and realised qualified medical aid was not forthcoming, the sanitation worker helped birth the child. She reportedly did so without informing the family of the staffing situation.
Apart from action against the sanitation worker and the nurse (it is unclear if there will be action against the doctor too), questions have also been asked about the lack of ambulances. Under Madhya Pradesh state laws as soon as a pregnant woman calls for help an ambulance must transport her either to the nearest district hospital or a PHC. In Rani’s case, there was no ambulance.
District Health Officer Sanjay Risheshwar has said the matter is being investigated and vowed “strict action” against those guilty.
(Manas Dasgupta)
