Ludhiana: Referrals, protocol make pregnant woman critical

Mehak Jain | TNN | Updated: Apr 15, 2020, 11:45 IST

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LUDHIANA: A 39-year-old pregnant woman with suspected Covid-19 was made to move from one hospital to the other for treatment. She is in a critical condition now.
The woman who hails from Vikas Nagar, Phagwara, is 18 weeks pregnant with twins. She is now admitted to ICU Covid-19 wing of Christian Medical College and Hospital after being refused treatment at three hospitals.
Narrating the ordeal, her husband, 40, said, “First, we visited Genesis Hospital, Jalandhar, on Sunday afternoon where her treatment has been going on since December. There, we got to know that she is a Covid-19 suspect as she complained of breathlessness and cough. Doctors asked us to take her to a tertiary hospital and recommended Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. We took an ambulance and reached DMCH. We went to DMCH emergency at 10pm on Sunday. There, the doctors refused to treat her and asked us to visit civil hospital due to her suspected Covid-19 status. At the civil hospital, we faced more sufferings and finally at 11pm they referred her to Christian Medical College and Hospital, where her treatment started at 12.30am Monday.”
CMCH doctors treating her said, “She is a Covid-19 suspect with respiratory distress. She is in a very critical condition and was referred from civil hospital. She has been put on a ventilator. Her babies are at risk.”
Her mother-in-law said, “Either city hospitals are scared to admit suspected Covid-19 patients or do not want to save lives. At least, emergency cases should be treated.”
DMCH secretary Prem Gupta said, “The case is not in my notice. We have never refused a patient.”
Meanwhile, Dr Hatinder Kaur, senior medical officer, mother and child hospital, civil hospital, said, “As a preventive measure, we have home quarantined the hospital staff who had diagnosed the pregnant woman. The staff includes a doctor, a nurse and a Class IV employee. Their reports are awaited. The pregnant woman was suffering from throat bacterial pneumonia and her throat swab was taken from CMCH on Monday morning”
Dr Geeta Kataria, SMO, Covid-19 wing of civil hospital, said, “After this incident, we have started screening patients at mother and child hospital. We have provision of operation theatre and labour room in isolation ward.”