Woman Delivers Baby Standing In Queue For COVID-19 Test In Delhi Hospital

NEW DELHI: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several reports of medical negligence have emerged.

In a shocking incident, a pregant woman delivered are baby while standing in queue for her COVID-19 test on Monday. The 22-year-old woman was allegedly denied admission to the Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences (RMLIMS) till she submitted her coronavirus test report.

The woman was in labour when she arrived at the hospital but was asked to go to the triage area where tests are done through the TruNat machine, a news agency reported.

While she was standing in the queue, she collapsed and delivered the baby on the spot. The incident created a  panic and the medical staff immediately shifted the woman and the newborn to a ward.

Meanwhile, the institute has ordered an investigation into the incident and a faculty member and two senior and two junior residents of the obstetrics and gynaecology department have been asked to go off duty, it reported.

The woman's husband, Raman Dixit, a daily wager said that she was nine-months prenant and labour pains started yesterday.

"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," said husband, Raman, as reported by the agency.

Both the mother and baby are doing fine.

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."

(IANS inputs)