WHEN the medical staff at a public hospital denies emergency assistance to a pregnant woman, their callousness and negligence is tantamount to serious malpractice. In the early hours of Tuesday, a woman in labour was brought to the Raiwind Tehsil Headquarters Hospital by her husband, a brick kiln worker. Shockingly, Sameera Bibi was denied admission to the hospital by a Lady Health Visitor who said that no gynaecologist was present — surely an explanation that would be outrageous at any fully functional hospital. Sameera Bibi, who passed out from pain, was forced to give birth on the roadside near this 60-bed hospital which is situated a stone’s throw from the Jati Umra home of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Constructed at a cost of Rs700m and inaugurated last summer by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the hospital has also been criticised previously for providing poor medical care to patients. So while the motorcycle ambulance project and other similar schemes by the PML-N allow the party to tick off their election promises’ checklist, Sameera Bibi’s heartbreaking experience — even though she and her baby were later given treatment at another facility — is a stark reminder of the general indifference towards the health of women and children. This is supported by figures that show that one out of 98 women dies in childbirth in this country.

Earlier, the Punjab government was criticised over the avoidable death of Zohra Bibi who was denied treatment at four public hospitals in Kasur and Lahore, before she died unattended to on the floor of Jinnah Hospital. Though the medical staff involved in the tragedy was suspended, they were paid salaries for their time off work; they have since returned to their jobs. Endemic medical negligence calls for sterner government action. Moreover, health authorities must shift the focus to affordable healthcare delivery mechanisms and public accountability measures to avoid mistakes and minimise patient deaths.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2017