The Telangana High Court on Monday took a serious note of the tragic death of a pregnant girl from Jogulamba Gadwal district who was denied treatment and made to run from hospital to hospital as she hailed from Covid-19 containment area.
The court took suo moto notice of a letter written by a lawyer. Through the letter, the advocate argued that the pregnant girl 20-year-old Jenila and her new-born died as they did not get treatment at the right time. In the letter, the advocate placed the facts of the case before the court. The advocate contended that the pregnant woman had to go through a traumatic experience of being referred to six different hosptials and was forced to travel 200 kms. He contended that the doctors were too scared to admit without conducting Covid-19 tests.
She was first taken to Gadwal District Hospital after she complained of labour pains, but was referred to another hospital. After waiting for more than an hour for an ambulance, her husband Mahendra shifted his wife to Mahabubnagar Government Hospital. Doctors at the government hospital referred her to Koti Government Maternity Hospital as she was found to be anaemic with high blood pressure. At the Koti Government Maternity Hospital, doctors asked her to first get Covid-19 tests as she hailed from a containment area in Jogulamba Gadwal district. Jenila was taken to the Gandhi Hospital for Covid-19 tests. The tests showed Jenila negative for the tests. She was later admitted to Petlaburj Maternity Hospital for delivery and gave birth to a baby boy who was shifted to Niloufer Hospital where he died during treatment. As Jenila’s condition turned critical, she was admitted to the Osmania General Hospital where she died.
The heart-rending story moved the High Court and pulled up the state government for not taking non-Covid-19 cases seriously. The court ordered the state government to ensure that the ambulances are available to non-Covid 19 patients and admit pregnant women and other emergency cases without causing any kind of inconvienence to them.
