Death of pregnant woman: Interim inquiry report awaited

Even after two days a 30-year-old pregnant woman allegedly died due to denial of treatment by eight private and government hospitals in Noida and Ghaziabad, the

Even after two days a 30-year-old pregnant woman allegedly died due to denial of treatment by eight private and government hospitals in Noida and Ghaziabad, the inquiry report in the investigation is yet to come.

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The eight-month-old pregnant woman, Neelam, a resident of Khora Colony in Ghaziabad, had complained of breathlessness on Friday morning. She was rushed by family members from one hospital to another, but was denied treatment by all hospitals, citing non-availability of beds. Private hospitals claimed that as per government guidelines they are not authorised to treat suspected Covid-19 patients. The woman died in around 7.30pm in the ambulance itself after which the district magistrate (DM) set up an inquiry in the matter.

The DM also pulled up the hospitals for alleged negligence in the case. “In case of an emergency, hospitals have been instructed to assume that the patient is Covid-19 positive and take necessary precautions while providing treatment. There is obvious negligence in the case. The investigation report will clarify who is at fault,” said DM Suhas LY.

Officials feel that there are several angles to the case and it requires comprehensive investigation because of the number of hospitals involved. They said that the investigation will take time but they will come up with an interim report soon after which some immediate action will be taken against the erring parties.

Administration officials also said that the woman’s body was handed over to the family without an autopsy and without any sample being taken for performing a Covid-19 test.

“We are meeting the family, who have just returned from Garh Mukteshwar after the woman’s last rites to establish a timeline of the incident. An interim report will be possible soon. There are several factors that are the part of the inquiry and due action will be taken soon,” said MN Upadhyay, ADM, finance.

“We were busy with the last rites and were unable to file any complaint. My son will turn six-years-old in two days and has been asking for his mother. The whole situation is surreal and we haven’t even had time to process it,” said Bijender Singh, the woman’s husband.