Srinagar: With increase in maternity fatalities in Kashmir hospitals during the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, J&K High Court today issued notices to authorities asking as to why the victims of medical negligence cannot be compensated out of the salaries of the erring medics.
The notice was issued by a division bench of the court on a public interest petition by a High Court lawyer Umar Mir.
It sought “there should be compensation to victims of medical negligence and the same be deducted from the salary of those employees guilty of medical negligence”.
It also called for directions from the High Court for establishing well equipped maternity centers for pregnant women and children in every district.
The petitioner referred to two incidents of alleged gross medical negligence on 6th of April and 3rd of May 2020 in district Anatnag.
“In the first incident a pregnant women from a Coronavirus red zone died with her unborn twins as she was denied admission in the hospital. In the second incident a 30 year old pregnant girl died with her unborn baby as she was denied an ambulance by the hospital administration”, the petitioner said.
He cited a third incident in which a woman delivered her child in a quarantine center.
“A video was also viral on social media in which the family of the patient can be heard alleging that the placenta of the baby was not cut even after three hours of the delivery which put the life of the baby in great danger”, he said in the petition.
The incidents of death of three children and their mothers brought shock to the society and raised questions on the preparedness of administration and health department to deal with emergency cases and protection of unborn children, it added.
The petitioner also referred to another incident of Budgam in which a woman died after giving birth to the child. The family alleges negligence on part of the doctors in the incident, he said.
Reinforcing his point the petitioner lawyer cited another case when a lady was admitted in SKIMS Srinagar for treatment of brain hemorrhage. For three hours the lady did not catch attention of doctors forcing her family to shift the patient o a private hospital in the city, he said.
He also sought for magisterial enquiries into all these incident and bring the culprits to the book.
