No ambulance, woman delivers in bus; probe on

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, April 30

A woman hailing from the Akhnoor tehsil de4livered a newborn in a bus after she was referred to SMGS Hospital by doctors of Sub-District Hospital (SDH), Akhnoor, on Friday evening.

The authorities even failed to arrange transportation for Nisha Devi, who was suffering from acute labour pain. Her family had to board a private bus wherein she delivered a baby. Nisha is wife of Vakil Chand, who himself is a basic health worker in the Health Department.

Fortunately, a pharmacist, Bharat Bhushan Bhagat, serving in the Health Department, who was standing near the bus acted swiftly and carried the normal delivery and saved both mother and child.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Bali Bhagat constituted a two-member inquiry committee comprising the CMO and the Deputy CMO.

“The inquiry committee has been asked to submit the report within four days,” Bhagat said, adding that strict action would be taken in this incident.

The incident has exposed the ailing health sector in J&K. Director Health Services (DHS), Jammu, Dr BS Pathani, however, sought to downplay the incident. “Both ambulances sanctioned for Sub-District Hospital, Akhnoor, had gone to shift the patients so transportation could not be provided to the pregnant woman,” he said.

Notwithstanding claims of the authorities, as per the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) of the NHM, it is mandatory on part of the authorities to arrange transportation for a pregnant woman in case she has to be referred to another hospital in case of any complication.

According to the official figure, there is a fleet of 540 functional ambulances in the Jammu region only and officially every hospital is equipped with required ambulances. It is widely alleged that most of the ambulances are misused by doctors and other staff.