Yavatmal: Newborn dies, villagers claim PHC staff neglecting duties

YAVATMAL: A 22-year-old married woman from Bechkheda village, 17km from Yavatmal city, lost her first child due to alleged negligence of the primary health centre (PHC) and other senior officers. Bechkheda comes under Belora (Rui) PHC supervised by district health officer (DHO) Dr CS Chavan.
The state and central governments have implemented a number of schemes for pregnant women and feeding mothers. There are incentives for both the woman and PHC staff if the delivery is done at hospitals or health centres. It is learnt that the woman, identified as Nikhita Ram Rathod, was never attended to by the PHC staff.
She delivered on Tuesday at her home. Unfortunately, she rolled over the newborn baby during the delivery. The baby and the mother were taken to the PHC in an autorickshaw. But the baby had died even before any medical care could be provided.
Villagers told TOI that the PHC staff seldom attend office. “Government quarters for the doctor and other staff are not occupied and remain abandoned. We have complained to the collector, CEO and DHO but to no avail,” they said.
One of the villagers said that when the officials did surprise inspection, the employees were found neglecting their duties. The collector had seized the muster and assured the villagers of stringent action against all those found guilty of dereliction of duties.
Another villager claimed that when he contacted the DHO, the officer allegedly asked him to lodge complaint with the taluka medical officer.
When TOI contacted Dr Chavan, he was unaware of the incident. The DHO said he will be taking the details later.