Patna - An impoverished woman in Bihar gave birth to triplets on the street after being denied admission to a government hospital. The shocking incident took place at a government hospital at Raniganj in eastern Bihar’s Araria district on Wednesday, and sparked widespread outrage. The hospital on Thursday ordered an investigation into the matter.
Rinku Devi, 30, was brought to the hospital after her labour pains started. Much to her shock, however, the hospital staff on duty refused to admit the patient, and instead advised her husband to admit her to some private hospital.
Witnesses said right when the woman was leaving the hospital, her condition deteriorated as she lay on the ground. Hearing her cries, the women on the hospital campus rushed to the spot, covered the patient with a sari, and performed her delivery. The woman delivered three babies on the street — two boys and a girl.
“I wanted my wife to be admitted to the hospital but was denied admission. She delivered babies on the streets with help from passersby. I thank God that she is alive today,” said the husband, Santosh Yadav, who is a daily wage earner. According to him, no hospital staff or nurses came to his wife’s rescue while she delivered the babies on the street.
The hospital has sacked one staff member for refusing admission to the patient, while ordering further investigation. “This is indeed a serious lapse on the part of the hospital,” local medical officer YP Singh told the media on Thursday.
Human rights activists Vishal Ranjan Daftuar has sought stern action against the hospital authorities for gross violation of human rights. “A woman was forced to deliver babies on the street. This is not only a serious violation of human rights but is also a case of attempt to murder. We demand serious punitive action against the guilty hospital officials,” Daftuar said. He added a hospital’s first priority should be to treat the patients.
Hospitals in India, of late, have come under fire for showing gross negligence towards common patients. A couple of days back, a doctor at a government hospital in Jharkhand state prescribed pregnancy tests to two youths who had visited for treatment of stomach pain.
Last month, another doctor in Jharkhand had prescribed condoms to an old woman when she complained of stomach ache. In December last year, a patient in Bihar with serious burn injuries was thrown into a place meant for dumping hospital wastes.
