‘Shown negligence’: Medical officer, health worker get show-cause notice in pregnant tribal woman’s death case

Vansi Nayak breathed her last during the wee hours of Tuesday, on her way to SSG hospital.

In the show-cause letter, the two staffers of the department have been asked to explain why “care was not taken with a very high risk” case of pregnancy such as Vansi’s. The notice, a copy of which has been accessed by The Indian Express, states, “It is an extremely serious matter that despite repeated training and directions issued at the district level, you have shown negligence… It is seen that neither any ante-natal care nor any profile services were provided to the woman. Her Mamta card was also not completely filled and updated. There has been no true information updated on the Last Menstrual Period and Estimated Delivery Date (EDD) of the woman. Despite the fact that the woman was (in) a very high-risk pregnancy category, you have shown negligence in fulfilling your duty. You are called upon to explain why disciplinary action should not be initiated against you…”

Chhota Udepur CDHO (Chief District Health Officer) Dr Paul Vasava told The Indian Express that the show-cause notice was issued on Tuesday and the response from the two employees is awaited.
Vasava said that the patient had to be shifted to SSG hospital in Vadodara as it was a high-risk pregnancy and the short-staffed civil hospital in Chhota Udepur was unable to handle the case.

‘Did not keep tab on the woman’

Vasava said, “We have noticed that the problem began with the fact that the Female Health Worker as well as the supervising medical officer did not keep tab on this woman, who was, of course, a high-risk pregnancy — it being her fifth. Had there been updates on her EDD, care could have been taken to ensure she was shifted to a safer center earlier…”

Vasava further said, “She had to be referred to SSG hospital in Vadodara as we continue to face staffing issues in handling complicated deliveries at the civil hospital in Chhota Udepur.” Vasava said, “We will decide on the further course of action against the erring employees after receiving their reply.”

After Vansi developed contractions on Monday evening, the villagers fetched a cloth stretcher that is, as a common practice, used to ferry pregnant women and other patients across the winding, dusty trail of Turkheda to the main road where the ambulance can arrive to rush the patient to the hospital. According to the villagers, after covering around a 5-km distance in a cloth stretcher for about an hour, Vansi was taken in the ambulance to the Public Health Centre in Kawant, located another five kms away. However, since she had developed complications, she was shifted to the Chhota Udepur government hospital and then referred to Vadodara’s SSG hospital, where she was brought dead at 2.12am on Tuesday, hospital authorities had told The Indian Express.