TIRUNELVELI: Relatives of a woman, who delivered a stillborn baby at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH), staged a protest inside the hospital campus on Friday, alleging medical negligence.
According to the relatives, V Madhubala of Vannikonenthal developed labour pain on Sunday and approached the nearby Primary Health Centre, where she was referred to TvMCH. Despite her complaints, doctors allegedly did not treat her and nurses in the ward allegedly abused her using unparliamentary language.
Upset by this, Madhubala insisted that her husband Vetriselvan take her to a private hospital. However, the private hospital staff sent her back to TvMCH, where she allegedly delivered a stillborn baby on Thursday night. Following this, her relatives staged a protest inside the hospital campus, demanding action against the health staff who allegedly mistreated her.
When contacted by TNIE, TvMCH Medical Superintendent Dr Balasubramanian said Madhubala's relatives had taken her to the private hospital against the advice of his staff. "When she was at TvMCH, the baby had a pulse inside the womb. However, we heard that the private hospital doctors did not detect a pulse when they examined her. She later delivered a stillborn baby at TvMCH. It was our doctors who treated her when she delivered her first baby seven years ago," he said. When asked about the allegations of nurses abusing Madhubala, Dr Balasubramanian said he would conduct an inquiry and take action against the staff, if found guilty.