In Absence Of Doctor, MP Woman Delivers Baby With Help Of Sweeper; Loses Newborn

A 32-year-old woman lost her newborn child after delivering the baby with the assistance of a sanitation worker at a primary health care centre in Kharai village in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, as reported by The Indian Express. Despite several calls to get an ambulance, everything failed as no one responded. And, the assigned doctor on duty was not present at that time because he went to write an exam.

Sanjay Rishiwar, a district health officer, claimed that the doctor was attending his exam, so there was no attending doctor at the primary health care centre. The sweeper (who helped with the delivery) has been terminated from service, he said.

Woman left Child-less due to Medical Mismanagement 

Meanwhile, the woman, Rani Ojha, experienced severe labour pains at around 9 am on Sunday. Her husband's repeated calls to get an ambulance failed as well as no one arrived on time for their emergency. She was finally taken to a nearby primary healthcare centre by a private vehicle only to find that no doctor or nurse was present to attend to her.

“We did not get an ambulance even though I called for one many times. So, we had to rely on a private vehicle to reach here (the health centre). There was no doctor or any staff here. The delivery took place, but the child died,” the husband Ram Sevak Ojha said. Later, they finally managed to reach the healthcare centre by 12:30 pm then. As no healthcare staff was present, a woman sanitation worker took the woman to the labour room.

Rani gave birth to a girl, but the child died minutes later due to a lack of timely medical assistance. The woman sanitation worker, who had been terminated from service, told the local media that doctors and nurses do not report to duty on Sundays.

Several instances have occurred where the lacklustre attitudes of healthcare facilities have been reported from Madhya Pradesh. In June, videos surfaced on social media that showed rats roaming around a government-run hospital in Gwalior city, prompting authorities to order effective pest control measures.

Such disappointing incidents remind us how India being one of the top countries in medical tourism still fails to cater to its citizens, there is a high level of development that the nation needs to work on immediately.