Pregnant woman dies at Delhi govt hospital, kin cry foul

NEW DELHI: A 23-year-old pregnant woman, Monu Kumari, and her unborn child died under mysterious circumstances at Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, a Delhi govt-run facility in Malviya Nagar, on Saturday. Her family accused the hospital of negligence.
Sudhakar Singh, the husband of Monu Kumari and a resident of Samastipur, alleged that his wife did not receive timely care from a senior doctor, despite her ultrasound of the breast being marked as "urgent".She was left waiting for nearly three hours before the procedure was conducted.
After the ultrasound report was reviewed, a doctor prescribed pain medication and administered an injection in the emergency room. She was advised to lie down for half an hour and then leave for home. Subsequently, another doctor ordered an ECG. Following these events, the doctors pronounced both the woman and her unborn child dead around 1.30 pm.
Singh, who works in a private sector, claimed that despite his wife experiencing complications, no senior doctor attended to her. Frustrated by the situation, he decided to involve police and file a complaint against the hospital staff. "My wife's body has been sent to a mortuary for postmortem," he said.
Police said in such cases they rely on postmortem report and take opinion from Delhi Medical Council.
Following the tragic incident, Singh expressed his grief and disappointment with the hospital's handling of his wife's case. He alleged that the medical staff failed to provide adequate care and attention to his wife during her critical condition.
Chandan, a family member of Monu, told TOI that her remains were being transported to All India Institute of Medical Sciences for an autopsy on Sunday.
The postmortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of Monu's death and gather other crucial evidence related to the case.
When contacted, Dr Pankaj Agarwal, the media nodal officer of the hospital, stated that based on preliminary details, the patient, who was 38 weeks pregnant, was under the care of a senior gynaecologist. He added, "Until the postmortem happens, we will not be able to comment on details."
Dr Agarwal further said that the patient's body had been handed over to police. "An autopsy will be conducted to know the cause of death. The medical examiner will perform a thorough postmortem examination to determine the factors that led to the patient's demise. Further investigations may be conducted based on the findings of the autopsy".