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Woman, newborn twins die after hospital refuses admission in Karnataka
The doctors and the hospital staff allegedly refused to admit the woman, reportedly over not having an Aadhaar card or a 'Maternity Card'. The hospital sent her back home while she was in excruciating pain, neighbours said.
In what has been called as a huge case of negligence, a 30-year-old woman and her newborn twins died on Thursday during delivery in Karnataka's Tumakuru district - near the capital city of Bengaluru - after they were allegedly denied admission at the district hospital.
Neighbours told news agency PTI that Kasturi – the mother – had developed labour pains the previous evening and was taken to the hospital. She was living with another girl in the house in Bharathi Nagar. She belonged to the economically weaker section and had sought help from some neighbours to raise money for the delivery. Kasturi's husband was not present at the time. She also had a six-year-old, reports quoting neighbours suggested.
On Wednesday, after Kasturi developed labour pain, they sent her in an autorickshaw to the Tumakuru district hospital. The doctors and the hospital staff allegedly refused to admit her, saying that she neither has an Aadhaar card nor a 'Maternity Card'. The hospital sent her back home while she was in excruciating pain, the neighbours said.
They further told PTI that the doctor told Kasturi that she would write a slip referring her to the Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. However, by the next morning, the pain intensified and she gave birth to one child at home. She suffered heavy bleeding while delivering another baby and died.
Taking note of the incident, district health officer (DHO) Dr Manjunatha DN recommended the duty doctor be suspended for causing delay that led to the death of the mother and her newborns. “This is a dereliction of duty. Since I cannot order the duty doctor’s suspension, I recommended it to the Tumakuru district deputy commissioner,” he told PTI, adding that a detailed inquiry would also take place.
The incident has been heavily criticised by opposition parties like the JD(S) and the Congress that have demanded the state health minister K Sudhakar's resignation over the incident. “A while ago I tweeted about the dark side of state @BJP4Karnataka government administration (recession incident) which is drowning in politics, elections and propaganda. But, a more terrible and gut-wrenching incident took place in Tumkur, which shook the whole of Karnataka,” tweeted former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy.
“Is mother card important, or the treatment? Life matters, or rules? @mla_sudhakar What is important? Is the rule mandatory for treatment that is not for corruption,” asked Congress, attacking the minister.
