Bhubaneswar: A pregnant woman infected with HIV suffered labour pain for around 30 hours on the hospital floor at SCB Medical College & Hospital in Cuttack and nobody attended her.
The allegation was made by the victim’s husband who complained about the apathy shown to her wife at the hospital.
“Nobody touched the pregnant woman at the hospital. The medical staff did not attend her even though she suffered labour pain for 30 hours,” the husband alleged.
According to sources, the 22-year-woman of Paradip area got married two years ago. She became pregnant for the second time following miscarriage of the couple’s first child. However, the woman was tested HIV positive after undergoing a blood test on November 29, 2016 in Salepur. In view of past miscarriage, her husband with help of a ASHA worker brought her to Cuttack SCB hospital on Tuesday night after she experienced labour pain.
She was taken to the maternity ward directly as the Out Patient Department (OPD) was closed.
“However, the medical staff did not attend to her when they came to know that the woman was HIV infected patient. Even after suffering labour pain for 30 hours lying on the floor, the doctor or nurse did not help her. After 24 hours, she was sent to a regional diagnosis centre for blood tests but the officials there did not examine the blood. We requested the doctor for treatment, but the latter misbehaved and drove us out,” the husband said.
Later, the victim’s husband approached a NGO, Utkal Samaj, which helped the woman get admissioninto the SCB and provided a bed.
“The patient has been allotted a bed in maternity ward steps will be taken for normal delivery,” said a hospital’s official.
