Srinagar, May 3: A woman from frontier district of Kupwara delivered a dead baby in the compound of Lal Ded Hospital here after an alleged delay in permission by hospital security guards at the gate. While doctors who examined her claimed it was an Intra Uterine Death (IUD), sources at the hospital revealed an alleged medical negligence in handling the expecting mother led to baby’s death.
 Saleema, 30, who was accompanied by her husband Din Muhammad Khatana from Kullingam Kupwara was admitted in SMHS on Sunday for a ‘severe heart ailment.’ This morning she was referred to LD Hospital for treatment. “She was pregnant and needed an immediate gynecological care so we referred her to LD Hospital,” said a Registrar at SMHS, Dr. Sajjad. “The patient was suffering from Congestive Cardiac Failure wherein blood is supplied to heart at an irregular pace,” he informed.
 Witnessing this unusual delivery in the hospital compound, people present there started demonstrations against the security guards who ‘caused the delay.’
 “The guards were not allowing her husband to take her to the ward, they were asking him to get the admit card first,” Gulshana, an eyewitness said.
 The people tried to block the Lal Mandi road outside but police action limited their movement to the hospital compound.
 According to Medical Superintendent Lal Ded Hospital, Dr Muhammad Shafi, the foetus was already dead and he claimed it as ‘Intra Uterine Death (IUD)’ case. “Our team has examined the lady and it was due to the cardiac ailment that she lost her baby in her uterus,” he said. “The patient is undergoing treatment at ICU and she is normal now,” he added.
 But sources said the patient was accompanied by an intern from SMHS Hospital which is a negligence. “This sensitive case should have been handled by some senior doctor or a post-graduate doctor,” a medico said. “Report has been sent to Principal Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar,” he said.
 In the report, the sources said, “It is mentioned that intern cannot handle this sensitive case and officials at SMHS should have called a team of doctors from Lal Ded Hospital to treat this sensitive case there (at SMHS) only and the ambulance driver who was sent with the patient was in a hurry and he dropped the patient without waiting for the doctors of Lal Ded Hospital.”
 Principal GMC, Dr Shahida Mir, while denying any medical negligence in the case, said, “It’s a normal procedure to send an intern with a patient and the baby was Still Born Child.”

Lastupdate on : Tue, 3 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 3 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 4 May 2011 00:00:00 IST