Stillborn case: SHRC recommends compensation, filling of vacancies with medical staff
'More than 4,000 rural health nurse vacancies remain unfilled in 8,488 sub-health centres in Tamil Nadu. With 50% of the posts lying vacant, the workload of the rural health nurses in service has increased drastically,' SHRC member V. Kannadasan observed in an order. The Commission recommended the State government to pay a compensation of ₹5 lakh to a pregnant woman's kin who was reportedly forced to clean up her blood before boarding an ambulance.
Even as it appreciated various programmes of the State government, the Commission observed: 'Due to the shortage of doctors and nurses in government hospitals in various districts including Villupuram, there is a delay in providing immediate treatment to patients. Activists also criticise that there is only one doctor in many primary health centers. An environment has also emerged where government doctors are psychologically affected due to low salaries and high workload.'
The Commission recommended the State government to take necessary steps to appoint more doctors, nurses and other medical staff, especially in Primary Health Centers in the village level round the clock throughout the State. It also recommended necessary steps to provide more ambulance services to give special attention to pregnant women to reach hospitals in time.
The Commission also appreciated the efforts taken by the Tamil Nadu government on its achievement projects throughout the State and recalled the introduction of various flagship schemes for maternal and child health and control of infectious diseases. It also appreciated the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme and the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme.
'The government of Tamil Nadu is taking various steps to reduce maternal mortality. However, the target of reducing maternal mortality can be achieved only if there are sufficient numbers of obstetricians in hospitals,' the Commission said. The restrictions in the Chief Minister's Insurance Scheme should be removed, it said. Action should be taken on complaints that some private hospitals participating in the scheme are using the entire insurance amount and charging additional fees for it, it said.
The Commission made these observations while dealing with a complaint from one K. Devamani. Her pregnant daughter K. Subulakshmi was admitted to Murugeri Primary Health Centre on April 26, 2021. While the 108 ambulance arrived to take her, auxiliary nurse midwife Prabhavathi from the PHC shouted at her and demanded that she cleaned up her blood from the bed before leaving.
The ANM did not allow it even after the ambulance staff insisted that the patient was to be shifted out at once. Due to the delay, they were not able to reach the Government Medical College Hospital at Mundiyambakkam on time and the foetus did not survive. The patient also contracted COVID-19 infection. The complainant alleged inhumane actions on the part of government employees and further sought for an investigation into the incident.
During the hearing, the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine submitted a detailed report. It said the ANM had to attend to two patients simultaneously, one of them injured in an accident. It was submitted that the patient's attender was not forced to clean up the blood.
Considering the oral and documentary evidence of the parties and also findings given in the enquiry report, the Commission said it was categorically established that the patient's had a stillborn due to inordinate delay in the Primary Health Centre where the patient and attender were asked to clean up the blood before boarding the ambulance.
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