Gurugram: Pregnant woman ‘denied bed’ at hospital due to shortage; officials refute claims

She was allotted a bed at around 7pm by the hospital authorities in papers, but her bed was already occupied by another patient at the time due to a shortage, according to the woman’s family and hospital officials privy to matter.

A 20-year-old pregnant woman in labour was allegedly made to sleep on the floor outside the delivery ward of Civil Hospital in Sector 10A for the last 48 hours since Wednesday, alleged her family members on Friday. However, officials from the hospital denied the family’s claims saying that the woman denied the bed she was assigned to.

Officilas at the hospital denied the allegations saying that she refused to take the allotted bed.

The woman, 36 weeks pregnant, is a resident of IMT in Manesar. She reached the hospital along with her husband and mother-in-law on Wednesday afternoon. She was allotted a bed at around 7pm by the hospital authorities in papers, but her bed was already occupied by another patient at the time due to a shortage, according to the woman’s family and hospital officials privy to matter.

Pawan Thakur, 26, the woman’s husband, said his wife spent the entire night in the cold, covering herself in a thin blanket. “The hospital authorities refused to provide us with a bed. The one allotted already had three to four pregnant women,” said Thakur, adding that repeated requests to provide the bed were unheard by the hospital staff.

According to the woman’s family, the woman was allotted a separate bed by Friday evening and her delivery is expected today.

The hospital staff said that the footfall of patients doesn’t match the number of beds available in the ward. “We face this situation regularly while trying to calm the patients who remain reluctant to share the beds,” the staff member said, requesting anonymity.

Dr Alka Singh, chief medical officer of Gurugram, said that the patient was allotted a bed on time but she chose to stay outside on her own. “With the resources in our hands, we are trying to coordinate and arrange beds and doctors for pregnant women in need. For a health facility this big, providing independent beds to every patient remains a challenge. Some of the patients refuse to share the beds, leading to further complications,” Singh said.

When asked about patients having to share beds, Singh acknowledged the situation and said that adding more beds remains a challenge as the hospital is already operating at full capacity.

According to the hospital officials, around 10 to 15 beds of the total 60-70 beds in the maternity ward have been reserved for women in pre-pregnancy stage. The remaining beds remain available for post-pregnancy care and for pregnant women who undergo surgical procedures.

During a spot check by HT at 2pm on Friday, around 12 women were seen sharing the same bed inside the labour room which had five beds at that time. Around 10-15 pregnant women were standing in a queue outside the doctor’s room in the ward for at least three to four hours waiting for their turn.

Around three to four doctors, along with nurses, conduct 20 to 25 deliveries daily, according to doctors at the hospital. However, the patient load is at least twice the number of procedures conducted regularly.