On Thursday, Surekha Deepak from Maharashtra was forced to give birth on the road outside Aurad taluk hospital. The incident clearly points to the fact that the State is facing serious challenges in providing quality maternal care.
While the incident could have been avoided if the doctor and hospital staff ensured the patient was provided an ambulance, which was available in the hospital, the absence of a gynaecologist or an obstetrician in the hospital aggravated the problem.
Medical officer Shilpa Shindhe, who was on duty, asked the patient to go to Bidar district hospital terming it a complicated case. Sources in the Health Department said this was because Dr. Shindhe was an ENT specialist, who had joined the department four months ago. Moreover, the patient had come without a referral slip or antenatal check-up and immunisation reports, which are crucial.
Bidar District Health Officer M.A. Jabbar said the duty doctors or the resident medical officer would have conducted the delivery if it was not a complicated case.
“This is the routine here. But since the woman was anaemic with 5 grams of haemoglobin and swelling in her feet, the medical officer thought it fit to refer the case to the district hospital. The staff should have ensured that the patient was provided an ambulance,” he said, adding that the patient and the newborn had been admitted in the hospital and were doing well.
Health activists and experts in maternity care said it was unfortunate that the woman was forced to deliver herself of a child on the road. This despite the State having a fairly good health system that includes a fleet of 2,018 ambulances, including 711 Arogya Kavacha (108) vehicles and 180 Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) vehicles, that are meant to transport pregnant women for free.
“Although we have ambulances with trained paramedical staff, it is unfortunate that women continue to face such problems. More awareness and integration of maternal, child health, transport, drugs and Information, education and communication departments is a must,” a senior official said.
Health Minister K.R. Ramesh said said it was for this reason that the department has now decided to bring all ambulances in the government-run hospitals under the ambit of 108 Arogya Kavacha service. Pointing out that there is a need to have a scientific distribution of ambulances and health care centres in the State, he said the idea was to ensure that at least one ambulance with a trained staff was available within a radius of 15 km of every village. “This will ensure timely medical care and also help us avoid such medical emergencies,” he said.
“We have issued a government notice to bring all ambulances under 108 service. All the vehicles will be monitored through GPS under Arogya Kavacha,” he added.
Ambulance fleet
711 : Under 108 Arogya Kavacha
447: In government hospitals
200: Nagu Magu vehicles
180: Under Janani Suraksha Yojane
43: Back-up vehicles
