In MP, there are 3000 vacancies of doctors in government hospitals (Representational)
A woman in Madhya Pradesh delivered a stillborn premature baby on the road after the parents failed to pay a bribe to the hospital staff. The incident took place on Tuesday outside the district hospital in Bhind.
The district administration has formed an inquiry committee to investigate the matter.
Six-month pregnant Kallo, a resident of Rajupura village in Bhind, was taken to the hospital by her husband and mother-in-law on Monday night after she complained of acute labor pain.
The family alleges that the hospital staff asked for Rs 5,000. When they said they did not have the money, the staff asked them to get the ultrasound done elsewhere. The child was born as soon as they left the hospital.
"When we came to the Bhind district hospital, the on-duty nursing staff, instead of attending to my daughter in law, demanded Rs 5,000 as bribe from us before starting the medical treatment. When we told her that we couldn't pay her the demanded sum, as we were very poor, the nursing staff forced my daughter in law and all of us out of the hospital, asking us to get her ultrasound examination done outside the hospital," alleged Mithilesh Mirdha, the woman's mother-in-law.
As they did not have a clean cloth to cover the child, they used the father's towel, Ms Mirdha said.
Taking cognizance of the matter, the Bhind district hospital administration has formed a panel of three doctors to conduct an inquiry in the entire episode.
According to the Bhind district hospital civil surgeon Dr Anil Goyal, "The incident happened on Tuesday late night and the foetus had died inside the womb only. The patient's kin were informed about it by the on-duty staff, but the patient's kin unsatisfied with it, left the hospital. No one turned them away from the hospital."
Government hospitals in the state have been struggling to cater to the population. In MP, there are 3000 vacancies of doctors in government hospitals.
Madhya Pradesh spends just 4.9% of its total expenditure on health. It is placed 28th among all Indian states in terms of expenditure on health, according to the National Health Account report.
According to the Health Index report by NITI Aayog, Madhya Pradesh is at number 17 in terms of health services.