Pregnant woman dies in SCB, triggers tension

CUTTACK: Death of a 38-year-old woman in the labour room on Wednesday pushed the SCB Medical College and Hospital into a major controversy with the kin alleging negligence in treatment by the doctors of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department.The woman, Banita Das was referred to the SCB Medical from Bhubaneswar and reported at the OPD in the morning. In her advanced stage of pregnancy, she developed labour pain and was taken to the labour room. Later in the afternoon, she reportedly developed fits and seizure. As she succumbed to her condition in the labour room, her kin charged the doctors with negligence. They alleged that she was left unattended and had a fatal fall from the bed. However, the doctors said she had died of eclampsia, a life threatening complication of pregnancy. “When she was brought to the labour room, she had already begun showing signs of imminent eclampsia, which is characterised by high blood pressure and convulsions. The doctors had immediately administered anti-convulsion drugs and she was kept under observation,” head of the O&G department Prof Shyama Kanungo said.But she developed complications and went into seizure in the afternoon. Doctors tried to revive her but in vain, Prof Kanungo added.Denying that the patient had died of falling from the bed, Dr Kanungo said the woman was being treated on the floor as all the beds were occupied. The two special beds for eclampsia patients  were under occupation by more serious patients, he added.INFRA SHORTCOMINGS: The issue, however, has brought to the fore the acute shortcomings in infrastructure as well as the personnel to man the labour room. With increase in institutional delivery and the Janani Surakhya Yojana, the referral inflow to the SCB Medical had shot up beyond capacity in the recent years.There are only 13 beds in the labour room, three delivery tables and three senior residents to attend to the patients. With more than 30 patients admitted at a time, most of the patients are being put on the floor. There is an urgent requirement of more beds and at least 20 senior residents along with an High Dependency Unit for critical care to pregnant women.The High Court-appointed committee comprising amicus curiae P R Das, advocate Tara Nanda Patnaik and Dr P K Pradhan also visited the Gynaecology department and spoke to the doctors and relatives of the patient.