BHUBANESWAR: The National Human Rights Commission has issued notice to the Chief Secretary on the incident at Puri district headquarters hospital recently when a pregnant woman was allegedly driven out of the hospital only to deliver her baby on the road.
Taking suo motu cognisance of media reports on the issue, the Commission has directed the Chief Secretary to submit a report in four weeks. It has also directed him to inform about the health of the woman Rosi and her newborn child along with the disciplinary action, if any, initiated against the “delinquent” doctor.
According to reports, Rosi was admitted to the Puri District Headquarters Hospital at 9 am on April 5. The attending doctor at the hospital advised surgery for delivery and asked her parents to arrange money for the same. As her parents were not able to arrange the money, the doctor allegedly asked them to shift her to some other hospital or nursing home.
The hospital authorities then allegedly forcibly discharged Rosi from the maternity ward. The woman, who was in labour pain, delivered a girl child in front of the hospital in an autorickshaw. The issue generated a furore and only when locals protested the action of the doctors and authorities, Rosi and her child were readmitted for further treatment in the hospital.
The Commission while issuing notice has observed that the allegations of the press report, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of right to health of the woman.