The abysmal state of infrastructure and the negligence of doctors at Khammam Government Hospital allegedly killed a newborn on Saturday. The infant rolled and fell off the steel bench on which his mother N Nagamani was forced to deliver after she was refused a bed, the family says.
The horrific incident took place at the Mother and Child Healthcare Hospital in Khammam, where Nagamani, who hailed from Pallegudem, approached the hospital on Sunday and complained to the doctors about labour pain. Despite trying to convince them that the pain had intensified, the doctors didn’t pay any heed to her, and asked her to vacate the hospital as her delivery date was October 26.
Nagamani couldn’t walk or sit due to the extreme pain, following which her husband and relatives pleaded with doctors to attend to her. However, ignoring the seriousness of the issue, the doctors didn’t attend to her.
Unable to walk, Nagamani, gave birth to a boy on a steel bench, who didn’t even survive for minutes as he rolled off and fell on the ground. The baby sustained grievous injuries and died almost immediately.
However, the woes of Nagamani didn’t end there.
The doctors refused to provide her with a bed even after this, alleged her husband and relatives.
Dismissing the allegations, the doctors and nurses said that the baby didn’t die due to the impact of its fall, but due to premature delivery. The postmortem of the baby wasn’t performed, and neither was a case booked against the hospital authorities for negligence, reported Deccan Chronicle.
According to a report in The Hindu, another baby in the same hospital died on the same day, evoking protests from various activists. The baby died after “breech delivery with obstructed pain”.
Reacting to the horrific incident, BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao said, “A poor pregnant woman delivered a baby standing with no basic facilities at govt hospital in Khammam in Telangana. The infant died on impact instantly. The TRS government responsible for this criminal neglect. This govt is busy splurging public money while commoners die.”
Taking a serious view of the incident, Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageshwara Rao directed the District Collector to probe the incident and take stern action against the hospital authorities, The Hans India reported.