MP: Bad roads delay hospital rush, pregnant woman dies on way

The incident occurred on Wednesday after Kamla, who had been suffering from complications from an elongated spleen, developed acute pain in the abdomen. She had been recently discharged from the district hospital.

Her husband Dhansingh, a construction worker, said, “We called 108 at 10 am and they said only a small ambulance was available which would come only up to Badhjiri village as the road after that is bad and tires of the vehicle might get stuck.”

The couple, who live about 7 km away from Badhjiri, waited for three hours for the ambulance before calling up again. “The operator told us that an ambulance reached Badhjiri at 12 pm and returned. We asked them to resend the ambulance,” he said.

Dhansingh added that the villagers helped put Kamla on a cot and in the meantime, he told a villager to get a trolley attached to his tractor. The tractor trolley caught up with them, but the ride on the kaccha road worsened Kamla’s condition, he said.

They reached Badjhiri at 3 pm and at around 4 km, they were at the hospital, where she was declared dead.

GGP supporters held a demonstration outside the SDM’s office. (Express Photo)

According to Chief Medical Officer Kishore Kumar, Kamla died of congestive cardiac failure from complications due to her spleen condition. “There was certainly lapse on the part of the ambulance driver who reached Badhjiri at noon but returned without coordinating with the husband.”

Kishore added that while the poor road condition was not suitable for the small ambulance, a bigger ambulance should have been sent. “We are investigating the matter and a show cause notice will be issued to the driver soon,” he said.

Dhansingh, accompanied by Rajesh Ulke, zilla president of the Gondwana Gantantra Party (GGP), approached the district collector with a memorandum and demanded proper road connectivity from Badhjiri to Lakhdeh.

GGP supporters also held a demonstration outside the SDM’s office.

“The tribal population is being overlooked, They are treated worse than cattle by the district administration,” said Ulke.

Dhansingh has been left distraught by his wife’s sudden demise. “After the blood transfusion, she was healthy. We were looking forward to our first child. Now there is nothing left,” he said.