“The baby has Nusrat’s eyes,” says Asma Shekh, her eyes brimming with tears. Asma is just 19-years old. The baby’s mother, Asma’s sister Nusrat Begum, is among the five mothers who have died at Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad in the past week – all after delivering C-section deliveries.
“We have named the baby Mohammed. My mother keeps saying that he sleeps the way Nusrat used to sleep when she was young. Look at this baby’s luck, people should be welcoming him to this world, but all he is seeing is us mourning and crying all day,” she says, breaking down.
This was 20-year-old Nusrat’s second delivery, the first one was a still-born, and that plunged her into a three-month-long bout of depression. “After six months, when she found out about her second pregnancy, it filled her with hope,” Asma says, taking out her napkin to wipe her eyes.
Nusrat was brought to the hospital on January 31, and she delivered the baby boy on February 1 after undergoing the Caesarian surgery. “After her surgery, she was bleeding heavily. She told us repeatedly that the pain is unbearable. That very day, doctors said they will conduct another surgery to stop her bleeding. We asked them repeatedly what was the reason for her bleeding, but they did not give us any answer,” narrated Asma.
According to the her, after the three-hour long operation to stop the bleeding, doctors informed the family that the surgery was successful, but asked them to shift her to the Osmania General Hospital (OGH) citing lack of proper equipment. “But when we reached the hospital, doctors told us she had died two hours ago,” she says.
She also alleges that the staff at Osmania asked them to take the body without a post mortem. “They threatened us, saying they will file a case against us,” she adds.
(Nusrat)
Asma’s isn’t the only family member with such a story.
Twenty-six-year-old Farhana Fatima also died in the same hospital, and her medical journey to death bears a startling resemblance to Nusrat’s story. Speaking to the media, Fathima’s sister recounted a similar sequence of events.
“They first took her for operation (Caesarian), and after the operation when she complained of abdominal pain, they gave her medicines. She died after the second operation. When we asked what the reason was, they did not tell us anything. When we decided to file a complaint, they themselves called the police and blamed us. My sister died at Niloufer hospital, but they did not even let me see my sister and sent her to Osmania Hospital, without giving us any idea about what really happened,” she said.
With anger simmering in the families, many relatives, along with members of the AAP and Congress, protested in front of the hospital on Tuesday, amidst high security being provided to the hospital by the police.
“We have deployed around 20 police personnel including lady constables. We don’t want people to create problems here. People are facing difficulty in entering the hospital because of protests,” says Madhu Mohan Reddy, Inspector of Nampally Police Station.
However, after the deaths, the hospital suspended all C-section deliveries, and formed a three-member committee to probe the deaths.
Senior Congress leader Mallu Ravi and several Aam Aadmi Party members have demanded action against superintendent of the hospital. “We have demanded Rs. 20 lakh for all the families. The government has been neglecting health care of poor people in the state. This kind of medical negligence is a serious issue,” says Mallu Ravi.
The hospital refused to comment on the specifics of the case. “The three-member committee has been formed to give report on the matter, and I would not like to comment on anything before the report is submitted. For now, all the C-section deliveries have been suspended, our doctors are going to Government Maternity Hospital in Petla Burj for the surgeries," says Dr. C Suresh Kumar, superintendent of Niloufer hospital.
Whatever the report may say, the future looks bleak for baby Mohammad. “We belong to a poor family, we lost our father when he was 40-years-old, and our mother was the one who raised us with several difficulties. Now she lost her daughter due to the negligence of the doctors. What is more left to see?” Asma asks.