Gujarat HC slams Ahmedabad Hospital for denying care to Pregnant Woman

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday heavily slammed LG Hospital, run by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation for denying care to a pregnant woman.

Although the Hospital tried to defend itself and submitted an explanation in this regard, the HC bench comprising Chief Justice Aravind Kumar remarked, “Can you believe that?… You expect a seven-month pregnant lady…who is probably in labour pain… to come outside the hospital to deliver on the corridor?… In that event (that she had earlier miscarried), it was a duty cast upon your hospital to ensure that she is admitted inside the labour room… By no stretch of common sense can this be accepted…”

These observations were passed by the Court while considering a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that sought directions for penal and disciplinary action against hospital authorities for denying medical aid to pregnant women.

Medical Dialogues had last year reported that the PIL was filed by Nikunj Mevada through his advocate Rajan Patel and it sought the formation of rules for human rights and for the treatment of pregnant women and children in an emergency.

The PIL had referred to two incidents, in both of them the women were in labour but still, the hospitals denied them treatment. In case of the first incident, a poor woman had to go through labour and ultimately had to give birth on the stairs of Mirani hospital in Tarapur taluka of Anand district in January. She had to wait outside the hospital in extreme cold as the hospital allegedly demanded Rs 42,000 fee which she could not pay.

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The other incident occurred in February at LG Hospital where a woman who was having contractions was refused treatment by the staff. She gave birth on the hospital premises but the child could not survive. The PIL demanded that government should issue directions to form necessary rules so that pregnant women can be immediately admitted and provided treatment in different facilities

As per the latest media report by Indian Express, the counsel for LG Hospital, Aishwarya Gupta on Thursday submitted before the Division bench that an internal inquiry had been conducted on the same day and consequently a report had been submitted to the Gujarat Medical Council as well as the Gujarat State Human Rights Commission.

Referring to the Inquiry report, the hospital submitted that a sonography had been conducted on the woman and when the doctor came to check on the patient at around 6 am, she was not on the bed.

“She had voluntarily gone outside the hospital and delivered the child… She went away on the misconception that the hospital had given her a discharge. It was a high-risk pregnancy because 12 months ago, she had a miscarriage…,” submitted the counsel for the hospital.

However, the HC bench was not convinced with such an explanation and submitted, "...You expect a seven-month pregnant lady…who is probably in labour pain… to come outside the hospital to deliver on the corridor?… In that event (that she had earlier miscarried), it was a duty cast upon your hospital to ensure that she is admitted inside the labour room… By no stretch of common sense can this be accepted…”

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