Medical apathy in UP: Pregnant woman dies after private hospitals refuse to admit her

Pilibhit: Medical apathy claimed the life of a pregnant woman on Saturday night in Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh. The woman had allegedly been denied admission by several hospitals. The 28-year-old woman was six-months pregnant and in need of immediate medical help but the local hospitals refused to admit her. 

The deceased woman was identified as Arshi. Arshi lived in Feelkhana area of Pilibhit. Her husband was identified as Shirazuddin. The woman was allegedly denied admission as her locality had been sealed after the migrant labourers arrived in the area. 

Shirazuddin said that his wife had turned weak and pale as she had observed Roza during the month of Ramzan. When Shirazuddin noticed that his 28-year-old wife was about to collapse, he decided to take her to the hospitals. 

Shirazuddin kept taking Arshi to private hospitals but all of them denied admission to her. The hospital authorities claimed that they were not accepting any cases from containment zones or sealed areas. The authorities also asked the aggrieved man to get written permission from the District Magistrate if he wanted his wife to get admitted. 

Shirazuddin told The Times of India, "I kept begging before the doctors to save my wife's life, but all my pleas fell on deaf ears and my wife died outside a private hospital in the absence of medical attention. "

The owner of the hospital where the woman died said that all the private hospitals are operating under immense pressure. The private hospitals are afraid of legal action from the district administration. The owner added that action will be taken against the hospitals if they treat a COVID-19 positive patient. Chief medical officer Dr Seema Agrawal said that an inquiry will be ordered into the incident.