Ranchi: Made to run from one hospital to another, mother delivers stillborn baby

Ranchi: A pregnant woman gave birth to a stillborn baby on Monday early morning at a private hospital after she was made to run from pillar to post in government-run

Ranchi: A pregnant woman gave birth to a stillborn baby on Monday early morning at a private hospital after she was made to run from pillar to post in government-run hospitals in the Jharkhand capital in the previous evening, her family members alleged.

Ranchi, India - April 19, 2020: Deserted view of Sadar hospital during lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, in Ranchi, India, on Sunday, April 19, 2020. A COVID-19 infected patient gave birth to a child recently at this hospital. (Photo by Diwakar Prasad/ Hindustan Times)

A spike in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive cases in Ranchi, a red zone, is making it difficult for non-Covid patients to get proper facilities.

State health minister Banna Gupta ordered a probe into the incident and wrote to health secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni, urging him to seek strict action against the guilty.

On Sunday at around 3.30pm, Ranchi-based photo-journalist Vinay Murmu (37) took her pregnant wife to the private lady doctor, who had been checking her during her pregnancy, after she complained of labour pain. “The doctor examined her. She said the baby’s pulse couldn’t be found and advised me to take her to a hospital immediately,” Murmu said. He planned to get her admitted to Ranchi’s Sadar Hospital.

“Earlier, one of my friends had spoken to the civil surgeon, who confirmed that Sadar Hospital reopened on Sunday. The hospital was sealed from April 25 when a technician at the maternity ward and a doctor tested Covid-19 positive,” he said.

“I found that only a nurse was on duty at the hospital, when I took my wife to the hospital on Sunday evening. No doctor showed up even though I waited for an hour. I started getting nervous, as my wife’s condition had started worsening,” Murmu said.

Then, he took her to the Doranda primary health centre. “I came to know that doctors are available at the health centre. However, the on-duty nurse told that the treatment can’t start until a doctor arrives while I duly filled up multiple forms. A doctor, who arrived after 45 minutes, advised me taking her to RIMS (Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences), as she was bleeding profusely by then,” the photojournalist said.

Murmu didn’t want to take the risk of taking her to the government-run RIMS after two successive bad experiences through the evening amid her worsening health condition. Instead, he got her admitted to a private hospital. “She was operated upon at around 1:30 am on Monday but the baby was stillborn,” Murmu said.

Sadar Hospital civil surgeon VB Prasad said that the authorities are looking into the incident. “We’re probing how the mishap occurred. Perhaps, there was some miscommunication. I had talked to a doctor at RIMS and he had agreed to treat her. However, the patient wasn’t taken to RIMS,” said.

Prasad admitted that the Sadar Hospital, which reopened on Sunday, faced an acute staff crunch on the first day, but the situation, he claimed, has improved from Monday.

Jharkhand has reported 115 Covid-19 positive cases and three deaths from 12 of the state’s 24 districts. Ranchi is in the red zone, as it has reported 83 Covid-19 positive cases so far. While 11 and 12 districts are in the orange and green zone, respectively. So far, 27 people have recovered in the state.