Shifa Hospital (File Pic)

Srinagar, April 05: Family members of a woman created a ruckus at Shifa Medical Centre- a Super-Speciality Hospital, here in Magarmal-Bagh Srinagar, after the woman gave birth to a dead baby. They alleged that doctors took the woman’s pregnancy normally, killing their newborn.

 Hospital management alleged that family members broke the windowpanes, and attacked the female staff-a charge-refuted by the family that said the newborn died because of the negligence of the doctor.

 According to reports, Aqeela (name withheld) wife of Tahir Ahmed, a resident of Batamaloo Srinagar was brought to the hospital for a checkup, on Tuesday. The doctors, after performing Ultra Sound, declared that the baby is dead in the womb.

“From the past nine months, this hospital looted us on one or the other pretext. Today, the patient was asked to undergo different tests. She was forced to visit from one room to another adding to the complicacies,” one of the family members said.

He said this hospital looted them for nine months and today at the eleventh hour, they asked us to shift the patient to the LD Hospital for normal delivery.

The family members alleged that attending doctors had taken this pregnancy casually saying that both the mother and the child were healthy, then how come the woman delivered a dead child.

  Police rushed to the hospital after a brawl between the hospital staff and the family members. Family members alleged that police took the side of the hospital management. They said that some ‘goons’ in the hospital assaulted them.

  When contacted, Director Shifa Hospital Dr Gulzar told news agency that the patient was under the care of one Dr Munazah and the date of normal delivery was 27 April. “They came here today and the doctor performed Ultra Sound which showed the baby is dead. Upon listening to this the family members lost cool and abused us. Still, we performed the operation after taking consent from the family,” he said.

 Dr Gulzar said that the patient had earlier visited the hospital some 12 days ago when the fetal movement of the child was low. He said the mother is perfectly alright and still being treated in the hospital. 

 “We tried our best but these things happen,” he concluded.

This is not a solitary incident in the said hospital, earlier as well such incidents have occurred in the hospital inviting the wrath of the family members and relatives. In October 2020, a family from Dandarkha Batamaloo ransacked the said hospital after a lady patient died in the hospital due to the alleged negligence of the doctors.