gurgaon

Updated: Feb 10, 2018 08:17 IST

A 25-year-old woman delivered a baby girl outside the emergency ward of Civil Hospital Gurgaon on Friday after she was allegedly denied an ultrasound test before the delivery due to lack of Aadhaar card.

Munni had her Aadhaar card number, however, the hospital administration insisted on a copy of the card which is mandatory for admission for an ultrasound test. Bablu, the husband of the woman, alleged that the doctors denied admission to his wife because she did not carry the card.

The baby girl was delivered without any medical support near the parking lot outside the emergency ward of the hospital, said Bablu.

Munni and Bablu reached the hospital at 9.30am after Munni started having labour pain. On reaching the hospital they went to the gynaecology ward where the doctor asked them to submit an ultrasound report. Since Munni had not got any tests done related to her pregnancy, she was sent by a staff nurse to get an ultrasound test where she was asked for an Aadhaar card, said Janaki, sister-in-law of Munni.

The couple live in Sheetla Colony in Gurgaon. Bablu, a daily wage labourer, offered Munni’s voter ID card, but the staff insisted on an Aadhaar card and Munni was denied admission for the test thus delaying her delivery. The couple has a two-year-old son.

Nine-month pregnant, Munni was standing in pain for two hours at the gate of the emergency ward and finally delivered the baby there at around 12.30pm, claimed her husband. “I was left helpless as my wife was screaming and shouting in pain,” he said.

After witnessing the incident, other people at the hospital raised their voice against the hospital administration which acted then acted quickly, claimed the husband. Both mother and child are healthy and are in gynaecology ward at the Civil Hospital, the hospital confirmed.

A crowd gathered near the emergency ward and a PCR van reached the hospital but the family did not file a complaint. “We were asked to produce the Aadhaar and the process got delayed because of it, but we did not raise any objections. We want to go home now. We don’t want to blame anyone. They were doing their jobs,” said Munni who was sitting with her baby girl on a bed at the gynaecology ward.

Gurgaon’s principal medical officer confirmed negligence by the hospital staff and has suspended a doctor and a staff nurse in this case.

Dr Pradeep Sharma, principal medical officer of Civil Hospital, Gurgaon, said, “The woman reached the hospital with full labour pain and the gynaecologist sent her with a staff nurse for ultrasound as the woman didn’t have any test reports of her pregnancy. She was asked for her Aadhaar card for ultrasound and thus her delivery process got delayed. We have found the doctor and the staff nurse responsible. We have suspended them and conducting a probe into the matter.”