Murtaza Mushtaq
Kupwara, Jul 18 : Family members of an expecting woman alleged District Hospital Handwara of medical negligence after the baby died inside its mother’s womb here on Monday.
A family member talking to GNS alleged that they ferried the woman all the way from Sogam to DH Handwara where she was referred on developing labour pain. The doctors at Sogam health facility told us that she is to be taken to DH Handwara for proper USG.
“The doctors at (DH) Handwara didn’t conduct the USG and upon persuasion one of the doctors’ saw the patient superficially remarked there was nothing to worry about”, he said adding On being asked that we are being referred from Sogam to Handwara just for USG, why as it that you are ignoring it. “On not getting any satisfactory response, we with no other option held back for almost upto morning and got the USG done from a private clinic in the morning only. To our utter shock, the radiologist informed us that the baby was not alive anymore. We approached the doctor at the hospital and asked him if the baby was doing fairly well once we reached here and had there no or less means available, you should have referred the patient to some other advanced hospital”, he said adding the doctor negated our genuine concerns on different pretexts.
“DH Handwara is an advanced hospital and all possible facilities should be available for the patients being treated there”, he said.
When contacted, Medical Superintendent District Hospital Handwara Dr. Nissar Ahmad told GNS that it was a case of Intrauterine death (IUD). “There was absolutely no negligence on part of the doctors on duty”, he said adding “there was actually no radiologist available at the hospital at that time because of which we were unable to ascertain the condition of the baby then.”
“Once we went through the report, it was ascertained it had been an intrauterine death (IUD)”, the medical officer said. (GNS)
