Jamnagar: A pregnant woman who had been going to Jamnagar government hospital for medical check up was branded when a sticker was pasted on her forehead by the hospital staff after a blood sample tested HIV positive.
Three months pregnant, she came for a routine check up to a government hospital in Jamnagar in Gujarat, and what followed was simply shocking.
The hospital staff, after realising that she was HIV positive, stuck a note on her head declaring her as AIDS patient.
"They have damaged my reputation. They forcibly pasted this sticker on my forehead and now everybody knows I am HIV positive," said the victim.
There was commotion at the hospital after the lady resented the move. As a mark of protest, she did not allow the hospital staff to remove the sticker even later.
The hospital management admits it was a mistake but says it was done so that its own staff could take precautions.
"We have apologised to the woman and we don't resort to such step. But it's a mistake and we have tried to rectify it," said Dr Naliniben Anand, HoD, Jamnagar hospital.
This is just another example of stigmas and taboos that still rule our public health services.
After NDTV's report, Gujarat Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas has ordered the concerned doctor and the paramedical staff at the Gynecology ward of the Jamnagar hospital to proceed on long leave and has constituted a high-level inquiry against the administration of the hospital.