Kolkata:
Two days after a woman died giving birth to twin babies on a pavement in the city, causing public outcry against medical negligence, West Bengal government has claimed that no state-run hospital refused to admit her and that she had actually died at her residence.
Rebutting charges of medical negligence in denying Usha Devi admission in Sambhunath Pandit Hospital on Friday night, Director of Health Services B Satpathy told reporters that the woman's husband himself cut her umbilical cord, but the placenta remained in the uterus, which turned fatal as per the post-mortem report.
"On the basis of statement of Usha Devi's daughter and initial reports, we have come to know that the woman's condition deteriorated thereafter and she died in her residence. She was not brought to any state-run hospital at all," Satpathy claimed.
He said the Health Department had later taken responsibility of the two babies.
"They are now comparatively better after initial attacks of asphyxiation and cold problems," he said.
Health officials also rebutted charges of a child theft the same day (Friday) from another state-run hospital Chittaranjan Sishu Sadan, putting the onus on the concerned family, saying it was "absolutely difficult to physically check each and every visitor".
The health officials held a press conference at the Health Department headquarters in Salt Lake two days after the 40-year-old woman gave birth to the twins on the roadside near Maidan in the city on Friday night.
Her husband took her first to Chittaranjan Sevasadan which allegedly refused to admit her and later to the Sambhunath Pandit Hospital that was also accused of turning her away.
She died after giving birth to her second child. The incident triggered a barrage of public criticism forcing the state government to order a probe into the matter.
Denying allegations of medical negligence, Director of Medical Education, S Banerjee said it was the state government's declared policy not to return any pregnant patient from any state-run hospital, notwithstanding her holding a health card or not.
"In this case also, the pregnant woman was not at all taken to any state-run hospital on Friday night, as claimed, and that the police brought her body in the morning to SSKM Hospital as per police report," Banerjee said.
State Health Secretary, Sanjay Mitra virtually gave a clean chit to the state-run hospitals, claiming there was no refusal to Usha Devi and her body was taken to SSKM Hospital in the morning from the roadside by police.
However, Mitra said he would be able to provide details only after the departmental inquiry and the police probe were completed.
Director of Health Services, Satpathy said if any dereliction of duty was revealed, action would be taken against the guilty.
On Friday's child lifting incident, the health secretary sought to put the blame on the family of Tanija Fatima, whose two-day-old baby boy went missing from the cot of the maternity ward.
"It is not humanly possible to physically check each and every visitor to hospitals as OPD load is quite heavy," he said, adding prima facie the incident appeared to be linked to the family.
A CCTV footage showed a burqa-clad woman loitering suspiciously in the hospital corridor and police was inquiring into the incident, he said.
The hospital superintendent also maintained that it was physically impossible to check each patient's relative or visitor during visiting hours in a hospital.
The director of health services said since special attendant's posts had been abolished, each patient was now allowed to maintain a relative with her in the maternity ward.
"The five-member inquiry committee, set up to probe the child theft, will submit its detailed report soon along with the police inquiry report," he said.