Woman delivers baby outside Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital, health ministry seeks report

PTI, Jul 19, 2022, 5:29 PM IST

Awoman delivered her baby outside Safdarjung Hospital’s emergency wing on Tuesday after she was allegedly denied admission by the Centre-run facility, prompting the Union health ministry to seek a report in the matter.

The hospital, however, denied the allegation, saying it has a no-refusal policy and the woman was given admission papers but she did not return them.

A video of the woman delivering her baby went viral online.

In the video, some women are seen standing around the pregnant woman with a saree, covering her during the delivery. Some nurses are also seen at the spot.

The woman’s relatives are heard alleging that the hospital did not admit her on Monday and she spent the night outside its emergency department.

Safdarjung Hospital, one of the largest tertiary government hospitals in the country, has initiated an inquiry into the incident, according to sources.

In a statement, the hospital said the woman, 21, was referred from Dadri on July 18.

As Safdarjung Hospital has a no-refusal policy, she was examined by the senior resident on duty at 5:45 pm on the same day and her condition was found to be 33+6 weeks gestation with preeclampsia in early labour, the statement said.

The patient was offered admission but she did not return with the admission papers, it said.

The next day, the senior resident on morning Gynae Receiving Room (GRR) duty was informed that a patient was delivering her baby outside. A team from the GRR was dispatched immediately and the patient’s delivery was taken care of, the hospital said.

”The patient is currently admitted in LR-II and the baby, weighing 1.4 kg is admitted in nursery 9 in view of low birth weight. Both are in stable condition. There are six doctors, including two Senior Residents (SR), posted in the Gynae Receiving Room round the clock,” the hospital said.

A Union health ministry official said a report has been sought from Safdarjung Hospital in the matter.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Manoj C said the woman, a resident of Khera, Ghaziabad was taken to Safdarjung Hospital as she was due to deliver her baby.

”As per the allegations, she was not admitted to the hospital and she delivered a baby girl in the hospital premises. Now, the woman and her baby have been admitted to the hospital and both are doing well. They are being treated under a senior doctor in the gynaecology department,” he said.

”We have not received any complaint (against the hospital) yet,” he added.

The Delhi Commission for Women has also issued a notice to the hospital and sought an action taken report in the matter by July 25.