Srinagar: A woman from remote Mooree area of Kupwara district in north Kashmir was forced to deliver on the road after doctors at Srinagar’s Lal Ded Hospital — the largest government maternity hospital in the Valley — did not allow her to stay in the hospital overnight and refused to admit her on Thursday, Indian Express reported.
The woman’s brother, Hami Zaman, told The Indian Express on Friday that Suraya had developed labour pain on Thursday at home. With nearly 3-feet snow in the area, the road between Mooree and Kalaroos, where the nearest hospital is located, were not motorable. “Around 15 people put my sister on a charpoy and we walked for six hours to reach the hospital (in Kalaroos, around 14 km away),” he said.
Doctors there referred her to Kupwara hospital, from where she was referred further to Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar.
At Lal Ded, the family said, Suraya was kept under observation for a few hours. Hospital authorities subsequently refused to admit her.
Zaman said, “At around 8.30 pm, my sister developed severe pain again and delivered a baby girl on the road. The newborn died immediately,” Zaman said.
According to the local Meteorological Department, the temperature in Srinagar was recorded at -0.7 degrees Celsius on Thursday night. Suraya Begum delivered a girl around 8.30 pm. The baby died soon after birth.
Dr Shabir Siddique, Medical Superintendent of Lal Ded, told The Indian Express that they have ordered an inquiry into the incident. “It is very unfortunate. We have already issued clear instructions to the doctors that any patient from far-off places shouldn’t be sent back at night,” he said. he added that a committee has been formed which will investigate the incident.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Patriot staff and re-published here in public interest with the intention of dissemination of information )
