Neyaz Elahi
Anantnag, May 27: On the lame excuse of hailing from a Red Zone, a woman suffering from labour pain was shifted from one hospital to another whole day. The pregnant woman and her family faced lot of inconvenience and agony visiting 5 five hospitals at a stretch.
All this was done to this pregnant lady in the garb of Covid-19 pandemic and when one minutely observes the chain of events, MCH Anantnag is to blame.
Sheeraza Jan wife of Muhammad Amin Sheikh, of Kandagund Shangus area of Anantnag was tested positive for Covid-19 on May 3 this month. Accordingly, she was quarantined at PHC Akura Mattan. On May 14, she was declared negative and after her repeat tests on 14 and 18 of the current month, the lady was discharged and a Covid-19 negative certificate was handed over to her.
The family members told KNT that Sheerazh Jan developed labour pain on May 26 and was taken to PHC Shangus. “From 10AM to 2PM she was kept there and then without any treatment referred to MCH Anantnag.”
At MCH Anantnag doctors refused to attend her saying she hails from a Red Zone. “We produced Covid free certificate as well and yet doctors didn’t attend her. They, however, provided an ambulance to us and asked to get the lady admitted at Sub-District Hospital Bijbehara.”
“We were shocked and dumbfound when instead of dropping us at SDH Bijbehara, the ambulance driver forcibly told us to get down near Trauma Hospital Bijbehara-one kilometer away from SDH Bijbehara. Sheeraza was writhing with pain on the road. This Trauma Hospital is Covid-19 designated hospital and here some doctors advised us to go to SDH Bijbehara. We sought a lift from a kind person who dropped us at SDH Bijbehara. As blood pressure of Sheeraza augmented, the doctors shifted her to LD Hospital Srinagar.”
The family members said that they arrived at LD Hospital at around 9pm of Tuesday evening where Sheeraza gave birth to a baby boy. “It was a normal delivery. How can I make these doctors posted in different hospitals of Anantnag understand that we suffered like hell whole day, moving from one hospital to another. Everywhere, we were humiliated and insulted for hailing from a Red-Zone,” Muhammad Amin, the husband of the woman said.
“Nobody can imagine our suffering. We went through a strange situation and yesterday, I realized that to be a poor is a curse,” he said and thanked doctors from LD for their benign behavior.
MCH Anantnag has not a good record when it comes to take care of pregnancy related cases. This hospital is habitual of unnecessary referrals and even those patients are being shifted on immediate basis who are Covid-19 negative.
Medical Superintendent SDH Bijbehara, Dr Showkat Ahmed Parray told KNT that it is sheer negligence on part of MHC Anantnag. He said he has already made higher ups aware about it. (KNT)