Woman, infant deaths spark unrest at hospital in Royapuram

A new mother died and another delivered a still-born child in a matter of 12 hours on Friday at the Government Raja Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar Lying-in Hospital, Royapuram.

CHENNAI: A new mother died and another delivered a still-born child in a matter of 12 hours on Friday at the Government Raja Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar Lying-in Hospital, Royapuram, sparking protests by two families.

Taking a serious note of the incidents, the Directorate of Medical Education has constituted a three-member committee to probe the matter.

The new mother, who died at 12.30am on Friday,  was Ershad, 21, who was admitted on Monday. She delivered a boy baby on Wednesday. But on Thursday around 11 am she developed fever and her condition worsened around 8pm.  Sources said she suffered fits a few hours later and died around 12.30am. Her relatives staged a protest at the hospital, alleging that Ershad died due to negligence of the hospital.
Just 12 hours later, R Soniya, 21, a resident of Ennore, delivered a still-born child and her relatives too staged a protest alleging negligence of the hospital that it resulted in the child dying in the womb.

“Soniya was admitted on Thursday. On Friday morning she developed labour pain and the doctors assured that the mother and baby were fine. But, around 12.30 pm, the doctors announced that the boy baby was born dead as umbilical cord was stuck around its neck. They did not give proper attention to the patient,” said M Ranjith, brother-in-law of Soniya.

The doctors in the hospital denied any negligence on their part. In Soniya’s case, they said the relatives were unaware of the circumstances and hence making the allegations. “The mother-in-law of Soniya was informed about the infant’s condition. The infant’s heartbeat rate was decreasing. But, the attenders were not aware of it and they were agitated,” a senior doctor said.

On Ershad, the doctor said she had suffered a cardiac arrest and fits. The best efforts by the doctors to revive the patient were unsuccessful, she said.

“Maternal and infant deaths are taken seriously by the health department. The state’s health index is measured by the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR). There were no maternal or infant mortalities in the hospital for a long time. The three members committee is probing the incidents,” Dr Ponnambalam Namasivayam, dean of the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, told Express. Police security was beefed up on the campus. Soniya’s family has also lodged a police complaint.

Committee members
Dr N Tamil Selvi, Prof of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Govt Hospital for Women and Children, Egmore, Dr Kamal Rathinam , Prof,  Neonatology, Institute of Child Health, Egmore and Dr B Tamil Selvi, Prof of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Govt Kasturba Gandhi Hospital, Triplicane

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