Pregnant woman carried over 10 km on bike in absence of ambulance

A pregnant woman was brought to a community CHC on a bike in Laterhar in Jharkhand as the hospital did not send an ambulance to transport her. She was finally admitted to RIMS hospital in Ranchi. The surgeon also claimed that the condition of the woman is now stable.

Latehar (Jharkhand): An unconscious and profusely bleeding pregnant woman was brought to a community health centre (CHC) here on a motorcycle as allegedly the hospital did not send an ambulance to transport her.

A Pregnant woman was brought to a community CHC on a bike in Laterhar in Jharkhand as the hospital did not send an ambulance to transport her.

The ordeal for Shanti Devi, a resident of Chatuag village did not end here. After travelling over 10 kilometres from her village on a motorcycle to the CHC, she was referred to the Latehar Sardar Hospital to which she was again ferried on the motorcycle on Wednesday. Looking at her chronic condition, doctors once again referred her to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi, where she was finally admitted.

The woman was reportedly referred to three different hospitals because of the unavailability of sufficient blood.

"My wife has been suffering from fever for the past three days and she was bleeding too. I dialled 108 to request an ambulance but we did not get it," said Kamal Ganjhu, Shanti Devi's husband.

District Civil Surgeon, Shivpoojan Sharma said, "Her haemoglobin count was too low when she came to the hospital. Our blood bank did not have an adequate amount of her blood group. Hence, we decided to shift her further".

"The allegations of the ambulance being denied are completely baseless. We were informed that the ambulance came within 40 minutes from the village. If one is in need of an ambulance, they must wait for some time," Shivpoojan said.

The surgeon also claimed that the condition of the woman is now stable and she is being treated effectively at RIMS.

After the incident came into fore, Ramchandra Chandravanshi, the health minister of Jharkhand assured a probe in the matter.

"The ambulances are available for a population of over one lakh people. I believe that the victim might not be aware of the emergency number, which is 108. However, if we find any discrepancy, we shall investigate the matter. We will also make sure that such incidents are avoided," the minister told the media.