Karnataka Health Minister K. Sudhakar on Friday ordered the suspension of three women nurses and a doctor on charges of negligence after a woman and her twin babies died during childbirth, reportedly after being refused treatment at a government hospital.
The minister said that the state government will bring necessary amendments to laws in the next session of the Assembly.
"If doctors and staff in government hospitals misbehave with people, they will be terminated from service. I will speak to the Chief Minister in this regard and if need be, we will bring necessary amendments to laws in the next session of the Assembly," the minister said.
A three-member team has been constituted to probe the matter and submit its findings within two weeks.
The deceased mother, identified as Kasturi, was a resident of Bharatinagar in Tumakuru and used to live with her six-year-old daughter. She was allegedly denied treatment at the Tumakuru District Hospital in Karnataka on the grounds that she did not have the "mother health card".
Apart from this, it has also been alleged that instead of treating her, the health professionals at this hospital also told the woman to get treatment at the Victoria Hospital in Bangalore and she returned home as she lacked money.
On Thursday morning, Kasturi and her two sons died due to severe blood loss while delivering the babies. She had given birth to twin boys, a local source said.
Speaking about the death of the pregnant woman and two newborns, Sudhakar said that the girl who has now lost her mother has been admitted to an orphanage home.
"A fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh has been made in the girl's name from the government. The government will also take care of her education. District surgeon, doctors and other staff who are found to be responsible for this have been issued showcase notice and have been asked to respond within 24 hours," he said.
Condemning the incident, the minister said, "Incidents like these are unacceptable and it is a blot on humanity. I express my sincere regret and I feel extremely sorry for the woman and the two newborns who left this world even before they could see it."
K Sudhakar further said that if the family is not identified, the government will take complete responsibility in this case.
"Irrespective of which state the woman belongs to, she should have been treated at the hospital on humanitarian grounds. This incident has indeed created mistrust in the entire public health system," the minister expressed his disappointment.
Notably, the Police department has been trying to trace the family of the woman since the last 36 hours.
Responding to Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah's comments, Sudhakar said, "I can produce records regarding a number of infant deaths that happened in Mysore when Siddaramaiah was CM. Siddaramaiah neither resigned nor sought his health minister's resignation. If he can stoop so low to politicise a death, he is not just unfit to become a leader but also unfit to be called even a human being. Such incidents should not be politicised."
"I will produce documents on the number of deaths that happened in government hospitals during Siddaramaiah's tenure. If Siddaramaiah is ready to resign as Leader of Opposition then I will step down as health minister," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor