The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Hospital refuses to admit pregnant woman

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 22, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Hospital refuses to admit pregnant woman

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, FEB. 21. A 24-year-old woman, Ponmalar, a regular at the pre-natal clinic at Chromepet General Hospital for two months, was denied treatment when she arrived one night last week. She was in an advanced stage of labour when she came with her parents to the hospital. There was nobody to assist her.

An `ayah', who met Ponmalar at the lounge, checked her and told her that the baby was not "in position and she will require a caesarean section."

She was told that there was no doctor on duty and was advised to go to the maternity hospital at Egmore in the city. Although an ambulance was available, the patient was told it had no driver.

Ponmalar's parents hired an auto rickshaw. The driver managed to take them to a private medical college hospital but the hospital authorities sought her medical history and test reports. When the family could not produce the reports, the doctor suggested that the family go to a Government hospital. They performed preliminary tests and sent them away.

In another private hospital, the duty doctor said the family would have to spend Rs. 5,000 for the operation. The parents left Ponmalar in the hospital and made a round of relatives to arrange for money.

By midnight, the baby had been delivered but the first-time mother developed fits.

Ponmalar received medical care in the hospital for a few more days before she was fit enough to be discharged.

The parents belong to New Colony. "I wrote to the hospital on February 15. On February 18 an enquiry was held at the hospital. Until Ponmalar's mother identified the ayah who had examined the woman and a scavenger confirmed seeing two women at the hospital, every employee maintained that no one had come to the hospital on the said date," says a local resident-activist V. Santhanam.

While every official from the Health Secretary to the Additional Director of Medical Services and the Deputy Director had personally expressed remorse and apologised to Ponmalar and her family,

Mr. Santhanam does not think the matter should rest there. He is planning to file a complaint with the human rights commission to claim damages for the trauma suffered by the woman.

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