Post News Network
Basta, Sept 26: The death of a pregnant woman Saturday at Basta hospital in Balasore district led to a flurry of tension at the hospital with scores of people accusing the hospital authorities of medical negligence which they claimed to have caused the woman’s death.
Angry locals thronged the hospital and staged a demonstration demanding that those responsible for the woman’s death be made to face action.
According to reports, Gouramani Patra, wife of Gadadhar Patra of Narbuda village, was admitted to the hospital Friday midnight for delivery.
After doing all necessary examinations, doctor Ratnakar Das assured the woman’s family that she would have a normal delivery. Dr Arun Kumar Bhuyan was supposed to come to the hospital on night duty, but he failed to turn up and his mobile phone too was switched off.
As the woman went into labour late Friday night, a relative of the woman went to call the doctor but he allegedly did not respond
in time.
At about 4.30 am, the condition of the woman worsened. Das then suddenly turned up at 4.45 am.
When he checked the condition of the woman, he found that she was in a precarious condition and in need of advanced medical care.
Das informed the woman’s family that the woman would have to be shifted as soon as possible to the district headquarters hospital.
However, as ill luck would have it, the services of 102 and 108 ambulance services could not be available immediately, leading to the death of the woman due to lack of timely medical care.
Locals staged a protest with the body of the deceased on the hospital premises in the morning.
As tension mounted, local police led by sub-divisional police officer Gobind Sethi and inspector-in-charge KC Palei rushed to
the spot and tried to pacify the angry people.
Gadadhar Patra was inconsolable. He kept on saying his wife would have been alive had the doctors responded on time, and said her death was wholly avoidable. The agitators insisted that the chief district medical officer (CDMO) release a statement
on the absence of a doctor at the hospital.
CDMO BS Pani and Basta tehsildar assured the locals that a doctor would be posted at the PHC within three days.
