NEW DELHI: After an HIV positive pregnant woman was allegedly denied admission by the district hospital at Badaun in Uttar Pradesh and she gave birth to a stillborn, Union Minister Maneka Gandhi today stepped in to ensure that she gets adequate treatment.
The woman and her husband were forced to travel nearly 50 km from Badaun to Bareilly for the delivery after they were turned back by the district hospital. When the woman delivered the child, it was dead.
Reports claim that doctors said if the woman received timely treatment the child could have been saved.
"Heart wrenching to read this. Painful to comprehend what the couple must be going through at the moment. Badaun CMO Dr Sunil Kumar was contacted by ministry officials to understand why the woman was denied admission," the Union Minister for Women and Child Development tweeted.
"The Badaun CMO informed us that an inquiry report was being prepared on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh Addl Director Health. Since the woman is at present being treated in Bareilly, the CMO concerned, Dr Vijay Yadav, was also contacted.
"Have instructed the Bareilly CMO to ensure that the woman receives adequate medical attention & to apprise us about her health status," she said in a series of tweets.
The woman's husband alleged that the hospital staff at Badaun had asked him to arrange for blood and protective gloves worth Rs 2,000. However, as the woman's health deteriorated they asked him to shift her to Bareilly.
Additional Director of Health, Dr Subodh Sharma has directed the CMO of Badaun to carry out an inquiry into the incident.
Yesterday too, the Union Minister had intervened to help a pregnant woman forced to go from pillar to post by a hospital in Ferozabad.
On August 28, a 12-year-old boy died on his father's shoulder after doctors allegedly asked them to go from one department to another at a hospital in Kanpur.