JAGATSINGHPUR: A couple from Tirtol block had a harrowing time running from one hospital to another for the delivery of their child.
The couple, a victim of erroneous COVID-19 test reporting and apathy of health care professionals, were saved at the nick of time by Collector Sangram Keshari Mohapatra. The father of the newborn, who works in a private company, has settled with his family in Bhubaneswar. His wife was pregnant and her delivery date was July 24. After she experienced mild pain on June 9, she visited a private hospital where the doctor advised her to get tested for coronavirus as per norm.
Her husband paid Rs 2,500 for the test at a private hospital where they were told that the C-section will be performed on July 14. When they tried to book a cabin at the hospital for the surgery, the staff prevented them from doing so. Since the woman was tested positive for coronavirus, she was accommodated in an isolation room.
The doctor at the facility refused to attend to her and advised her husband to get the surgery done at either AMRI or Apollo Hospital in Bhubaneswar but the latter refused due to high cost. Meanwhile, the staff of the hospital informed Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) of the matter.
A team led by the nodal officer of the civic body then took them to SUM Hospital in the State Capital. However, while the woman was admitted to the hospital, her husband was refused entry into the facility. When the man asked the hospital staff to get his wife tested for Covid-19, the latter refused stating there must be a gap of six days between two tests.
In the meantime, the BMC officials sanitised the couple’s house and asked them and other family members to stay in home quarantine. Unable to bear the harassment, the man approached Mohapatra and told him that delay in Covid testing will delay the surgery and this will prolong the agony of his wife who had been suffering from pain for the last four days.
Mohapatra then contacted his Khurdha counterpart and BMC authorities to ensure that the woman is tested for the virus as soon as possible. The woman and four other members of her family then visited a temporary medical college at BJB College in Bhubaneswar where their swab samples were collected for testing. The report confirmed she was not infected. But the other members of her family were tested positive.
However, the woman’s sufferings came to an end after she gave birth to a baby boy, whom they named after Mohapatra, on July 18. "We were struggling and the Collector saved us. Hence we have named our son Sangram (struggle) after him as his birth was preceded by struggle," said the man. Mohapatra said he was glad to have helped the couple. "I am committed to the well-being of people," he said.