Woman delivers in phone light in Faridabad hospital park; 2 staffers suspended

GURGAON: A woman was forced to deliver her baby in the park of a govt hospital in Faridabad in the dead of night after her family found the main gate locked, could not get immediate help from any doctor or nurse, and was left to manage the childbirth on their own under the beam of a phone torch.

The incident, which occurred at the 30-bed First Referral Unit hospital in Sector 3 early on Saturday, has sparked outrage, prompted a govt inquiry and led to the suspension of two staffers for negligence.

The delivery took place around 1.40am. Balesh - from Badoli village - was brought to the hospital after she went into labour. Her family said they first reached the main gate, but found it shut. They kept knocking and shouting for help, but got no response.

According to Balesh, the family then located another gate at the back, which was open, and entered the premises looking for assistance. Even then, she alleged, no doctor, nurse or support staff came to their aid.

With labour progressing rapidly and no medical team at hand, the baby was delivered in the hospital park area with the help of a relative. The procedures were carried out under torchlight in the park before the mother and newborn were shifted inside the hospital.

"My husband and brother-in-law kept shouting for help after entering the hospital premises, but no staff came. By the time help reached us, the delivery had already taken place," she added.

"The baby was delivered by a woman in the family who had some experience handling childbirth," said Chaman Chandila, who accompanied Balesh.

Balesh, who already has two sons, gave birth to her third boy.

District deputy civil surgeon Dr Rachna said the woman had arrived in a fully dilated condition and delivered within minutes. "The OPD gate was shut at night, though another gate was open for emergency services. It's unfortunate that the delivery took place outside the hospital," she added.

The health department ordered an inquiry on the directions of the health minister and director general of health services. Virender Yadav, Haryana's National Health Mission director, said the inquiry found clear lapses in night duty. "There were deficiencies. The issue was the non-availability of an employee and a staff nurse at night. The patient's attendants said they could not find them when they searched," he added.

Yadav said the hospital had been keeping one gate shut at night, but had now been asked to keep both accessible. "The main road entry should remain open at night, while the OPD side will remain barricaded. We found two staff guilty. They were suspended," he added.

The govt, Yadav said, would set up a maternal and infant mortality "war room" within one or two months to track pregnant women and improve emergency response.