A 22-year-old woman in Lucknow delivered her baby while standing in queue for a COVID-19 test on Monday, July 6, after she was refused admission to the Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) till she did the Coronavirus test.
When the woman arrived at the hospital, she was already in labour. However, she was asked to go to the triage area where tests are done through the TruNat machine.
While at the queue, her amniotic sac ruptured and she collapsed and delivered the baby on the spot. The woman and the newborn were shifted to a ward by the medical staff.
An investigation has been ordered by the institute into the incident. A faculty member and two senior and two junior residents of the obstetrics and gynaecology department have been asked to go off duty.
According to Raman Dixit, the woman’s husband who is a daily wager, his wife was nine months pregnant. He rushed her to the hospital on Monday, July 6, after labour pain started.
‘However, staff in the emergency ward of gynaecology did not admit her saying that as per protocol, she first needed to undergo a COVID-19 test. The test costs Rs 1,500 and I was not carrying so much cash. I made my wife stand along with a relative in the queue for COVID-19 test and went home to bring the money. When I returned, I found that my wife had already given birth to a boy and was admitted in the ward,’ Outlook quoted Raman as saying.
Spokesperson of RMLIMS, Dr Srikesh Singh, has informed that both the mother and the woman are doing well.
Officiating director of RMLIMS, Prof Nuzhat Hussain, said, ‘A three-member committee will submit its report on the incident in three days. Till then, the five staff members will remain off duty. The head of obstetrics and gynaecology has been asked to explain why instead of providing emergency care when the woman was in labour pain, she was sent for COVID-19 testing.’
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