Family on road with body on trolley: Another pregnant woman dies of delayed care in Anantnag

Srinagar: A doctor and a nurse were suspended in Anantnag after a pregnant lady died due to alleged delay in treatment and subsequent transfer to another hospital.

The family members of the deceased alleged medical negligence and protested by carrying the dead body out of the hospital on a trolley, video of which went viral on social media.

The deceased Shakeela wife of Zahoor Ahmad of Salia Anantnag was admitted at Sub District Hospital (SDH) Seer Hamdan on late Saturday evening.

At SDH, the patient was kept for some time before the doctors shifted her to Maternity and Child Care Hospital (MCCH) Anantnag where she breathed her last early Sunday morning.

The family alleged that the delay in the treatment at SDH by the concerned doctors and the medical staff was the reason the patient died.

“The doctors didn’t attend her while the patient was going through pain.  They (doctors) suggested us to shift the deceased to the Maternity and Child Care hospital even when we had already spent hours together at SDH Seer. It is sheer negligence by the doctors which led to the death of Shakeela,” a family member alleged.

They marched outside MCCH with the dead body on a hospital trolley demanding stern action against the doctors and other medical staff deputed at SDH Seer.

“The doctors are asking us to shift the body to the DC office. They want to make it a case of coronavirus and dispose-off the entire matter,” another family member of the deceased alleged.

The incident happened a week after another pregnant woman died along with her unborn twins at MCCH Anantnag. The woman, who eventually was declared COVID-19 positive, came from a Red Zone area and had been allegedly denied swift treatment.

Meanwhile, an official said that a doctor and a nurse who attended the patient at SDH Seer Hamadan have been suspended.

“The family members took the body to her native village for burial. An investigation has been launched into the case,” the official said.

When contacted Chief Medical Officer Anantnag, Mukhtar Ahmad Shah told The Kashmir Monitor that the Block Medical Officer has immediately ordered an enquiry into the case.

“The BMO took action and suspended a doctor and a staff nurse till enquiry concludes in the case. The enquiry report is to be completed within two days,” he said.

He said the hospital administration later provided an ambulance to the family to take the body back home.

“The family took out the body on a hospital trolley to protest against the doctors and nurse. We later took the dead body and family members to their native village in an ambulance,” Shah added.