BERHAMPUR: A 23-year-old woman died while being carried on a makeshift sling for nearly 7 km to hospital after developing complications following childbirth in a remote village of Odisha’s Ganjam district on Tuesday.
The incident took place at Soradapalli village under Chandanpur gram panchayat in Beguniapada block. The woman delivered a girl at home, but suffered excessive bleeding. An ambulance could not reach Soradapalli for the medical emergency because the village does not have an all-weather road. With her condition deteriorating, villagers placed the woman in a makeshift sling and carried her towards Sumandal hospital. However, she died on the way.
The newborn is currently undergoing treatment at Kodala hospital. The incident has again exposed the hardships faced by residents of remote villages in accessing emergency healthcare. The absence of motorable roads and timely ambulance services can prove fatal, particularly for pregnant women and other patients requiring urgent medical attention.
In October, a 35-year-old pregnant woman was carried for nearly 5 km in a sling to an ambulance in Kashipur block of Rayagada district. She delivered a stillborn baby at the district headquarters hospital in Rayagada.