Gurgaon: Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a shocking incident in which a woman was forced to give birth to a child under torchlight at the park of a govt hospital in Faridabad — and has called the incident “a grave lapse”.“Every pregnant woman is entitled to immediate, safe and dignified medical care at a govt healthcare institution and that if the allegations reported in the media are found to be true, the same would amount to a serious violation of Article 21 of the Constitution,” HHRC chairman Justice Lalit Batra said on Friday. “It painfully reminds one of primitive times when deliveries were conducted at home in the absence of proper medical facilities, institutional care and professional support,” Batra said.The commission has asked district health authorities to “submit a detailed report” on the action taken against those responsible, along with the current status of infrastructure and manpower at govt health facilities. The authorities concerned have been directed to submit reports at least one week prior to the next date of hearing — Aug 19.Assistant registrar Puneet Arora said HHRC has sought reports from the additional chief secretary, health and family welfare department, Haryana; Director General Health Services, Haryana; civil surgeon, Faridabad; and in charge, PHC Sector 3, Ballabhgarh. The commission has specifically asked the Faridabad civil surgeon to clarify why the pregnant woman was allegedly deprived of benefits under Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) and why compensation should not be recommended for the serious violation of human dignity and human rights.TOI reported the pregnant woman was brought to the Govt Hospital during the intervening night of May 15/16 while she was suffering from labour pain. However, it has been alleged that the main gate of the hospital was found closed. Due to the alleged absence of doctors, nursing staff and emergency medical assistance, the woman had to deliver the baby outside the hospital premises.The delivery and related medical procedures were allegedly conducted in the nighttime under torchlight conditions in open public area. It was also reported that the attendants themselves arranged a wheelchair and waited for considerable time before any medical staff reached the spot.Referring to the photographs published in newspapers, Justice Batra observed that prima facie the situation appears extremely disturbing and inhuman. The matter concerns the rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, including the right to life, dignity, health and emergency medical assistance.The commission noted that if the reported circumstances are accurate, they indicate a disturbing failure of the public healthcare system, where a pregnant woman was denied timely medical care despite reaching a designated health institution.This commission finds it a glaring, pathetic situation that on the one hand, Haryana govt claims full implementation of JSSK, which ensures free and cashless delivery services in all public health institutions of Haryana, while on the other, a pregnant woman, despite reaching the doorstep of Govt Hospital, could not access labour room and emergency obstetric care in time and was ultimately compelled to deliver the child outside the hospital premises.The commission has treated the matter as an extremely sensitive issue relating to human dignity, right to life, and access to emergency healthcare services. The commission raises questions over availability of doctors and nursing staff during emergency/night hours, functioning and accessibility of emergency entry systems, adequacy of emergency maternal healthcare services, accountability of medical and administrative authorities, and protection of dignity and privacy of women patients.
