Ghaziabad: Doctors, staff of Women’s Hospital in quarantine after 30-year-old woman tests positive for Covid-19

Ghaziabad:

Ghaziabad:

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At least 13 healthcare workers, including five doctors, at the Women’s Hospital in Ghaziabad were sent to 14 days of quarantine after a 30-year-old woman, who delivered twins on May 23, tested positive for the coronavirus (Covid-19) on the evening of May 24.

The hospital authorities said that by the time the reports of the woman came through, at least 23 normal deliveries and six C-sections has been done in the same labour room after the 30-year-old’s delivery.

According to hospital authorities, the woman, who is from Siddharth Vihar, was admitted to the hospital, located within the MG Hospital complex, on May 23 and delivered her first daughter, at around 4pm while she delivered her second daughters 41 minutes later. She was discharged on the afternoon of May 24. She as well as the twins have now been admitted to the Sanjay Nagar District Hospital, a dedicated Covid facility.

“We had got her sampling done on May 22 and the reports came out positive for Covid-19 on the evening of May 24. But by then the damage was done. We prepared a list of our staff who had attended to the delivery and other works. These include five doctors and five nurses besides one pharmacist and two class IV employees. All these were sent to quarantine at a facility arranged for them at the third floor of the hospital on Monday,” said Dr Deepa Tyagi, the chief medical superintendent of the hospital.

The hospital has also suspended deliveries on Monday and referred patients to other government facilities in Ghaziabad and Meerut.

“We took up only one delivery at 5am on Monday as the woman was admitted with us. Rest of the eight women who were admitted for deliveries were sent to other government facilities in ambulances to Meerut and Dasna in Ghaziabad,” Dr Tyagi added.

The health department late Sunday night had issued a list of 10 positive cases and the list included two Covid-19 positive pregnant women - one of these is the woman from Siddharth Vihar while the other is a Nandgram resident.

“The records of the second woman from Nandgram are being traced. So far, we have come to know that the second woman did not deliver at our hospital and possibly mentioned wrongly in the list,” Dr Tyagi added.

Woman, husband and twins kept in waiting for two hours in ambulance:

To add to woes, the woman from Siddharth Vihar, after she tested positive, was brought to the L2 category dedicated Covid-19 hospital at the Sanjay Nagar District Hospital but the staff also brought along her husband in the same ambulance with couple’s two newborn daughters.

“We waited with our two daughters in the ambulance for two hours but hospital officials did not admit my wife to the hospital. The ambulance was made to wait at the gate of the Covid ward in scorching heat,” the husband said.

Ambulance driver Vinod Kumar and emergency medical technician Brij Kishor, who were tasked to ferry the woman in the ambulance, said that the ambulance arrived at the hospital at around 11.57am and kept waiting till 1.50pm.

“The hospital authorities and the chief medical officer (CMO) were in talks about whether to admit the twins along with the mother or not. We have the Covid-19 positive report of the patient. But the discussion took time and the couple kept waiting in the ambulance at the main gate,” Vinod Kumar said.

Dr NK Gupta, CMO, said he will inquire why the husband of the woman was brought along in the same ambulance.

“There was absolutely no need to bring her husband in the same ambulance. There was delay in admitting the woman as initially, the Sanjay Nagar hospital authorities told us that the reports of the woman were not available with them. Later, there was a delay to finalise whether the newborn twins should be admitted to the hospital along with their mother or not. Finally, it was decided that the twins will be admitted and their Covid-19 tests will be conducted,” the CMO said.

Over the issue of quarantine of the staff members of the Women’s Hospital, the CMO said that they will be in quarantine for a period of 14 days.

“We will get their tests conducted. The entire labour room was sanitised as per procedure and will resume functioning from Tuesday. We are also getting the list of other women whose deliveries were conducted in the same labour room. Their tests will also be conducted,” he added.

Dr Naresh Vij, the chief medical superintendent of the Sanjay Nagar Covid Hospital, did not respond to repeated calls for comments over the issue.