Woman's death after childbirth triggers negligence allegations at Salem Hospital

Salem: A 36-year-old woman tragically passed away shortly after delivering her second child at the Mettur district headquarters hospital, prompting her husband to seek a police investigation into the incident.

According to the news reports, the deceased woman, a resident of Chekkanoor in Mettur, was admitted to the hospital on March 31 for delivery and had been under inpatient care since her admission. On April 4, around 8 pm, she went into labor and delivered a baby girl. However, within an hour of delivery, her husband was informed that she had died. The couple has a seven-year-old daughter.

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He has alleged medical negligence, claiming that insufficient doctors were present during his wife’s treatment. He filed a formal complaint at the Mettur police station seeking action.

Police confirmed that a postmortem examination was conducted, and the body was handed over to the family on Sunday.

Responding to the allegation, Joint Director of Health Services, Salem, Dr SP Nandhini told TNIE, “The absence of doctors cannot be alleged as the full medical team, including the duty doctor, anaesthetist, physicians, and obstetrician, was present with the patient. The delivery took place around 8.30 pm on Saturday, and within 15 minutes, the patient had a postpartum collapse and went into cardiac arrest. The exact cause can be ascertained only after the postmortem report”.

The incident has raised concerns about maternal health and hospital preparedness.

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that following the death of a 23-year-old pregnant woman at Sawai Man Singh (SMS Hospital) in Jaipur, Rajasthan, an investigating committee has confirmed that she died after being transfused with the wrong blood type. The committee has held five junior staff members responsible, while the senior officials supervising them have been effectively exonerated.

Also Read:SMS Hospital: Pregnant woman dies after wrong blood transfusion, 5 staff held responsible