Punjab health minister asks probe panel to submit report on woman delivering child on floor of Pathankot hospital

Pathankot (Chandigarh) [India], October 2 : Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra has ordered a four-member enquiry committee to submit a report on the incident in which a woman was allegedly forced to deliver her child on the floor of the civil hospital in Punjab's Pathankot after she was denied admission to the labour room.
Jauramajra had constituted a four-member committee comprising Dr Raj Kumar, District Family Welfare officer; Dr Vandana Kundal, Deputy Medical Commissioner; Dr Harnavneet, gynaecologist; Dr Bindu Gupta, SMO to conduct this inquiry.
This committee has been ordered to submit their inquiry report by October 4.
The Health Minister said, "any laxity on part of the staff members of the department would not be tolerated".
Ever since he has taken charge as Health Minister, strict instructions from his side have been issued to the staff to behave politely with the patients to ensure that the general public does not face any inconvenience while getting services at government hospitals, said Jauramajra.
He reiterated that stern action will be taken against the negligent staff if found to be guilty in this inquiry.
Jauramajra said, "there is already a provision for punishment according to the service rules for those government employees who are negligent or act irresponsibly and appropriate disciplinary action would be taken against that person whosoever would be found guilty in the Pathankot case".
Earlier on Friday, a woman was allegedly forced to deliver her child on the floor of the civil hospital in Punjab's Pathankot after she was denied admission to the labour room, prompting the opposition BJP to demand strong action from the AAP government against the erring officials.
A purported video of the incident, which happened on Thursday, has gone viral on the Internet.
Sharing it on Twitter, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla slammed the "the world-class health model" of the Bhagwant Mann government, alleging it was spending money on advertisements as the poor people of the state suffered.
In another tweet, he said the situation is no better either in Delhi, which the AAP also rules. "In Delhi, it is no better! Ho-halla on Mohalla Clinics but where are the world-class hospitals?" he said.
After a public outcry, Pathankot Deputy Commissioner Harbir Singh said he had sought details about the incident from the civil surgeon but he is "not satisfied" with the answers.
"I've contacted the civil surgeon and asked for details about the incident. But I'm not satisfied with the answers. If a woman entered the hospital, it becomes the hospital's responsibility to take care of her. I've ordered an inquiry and action will be taken against the guilty," Singh said.
He, however, said the woman's version of the events was different from that of the doctors at the hospital.
Meanwhile, Gurdaspur MP Sunny Deol wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, urging him to book the persons responsible "for playing with the lives of the patients".
"In the light of this shameful act, exposing the prevailing state of affairs in the state government hospitals in my constituency, I shall be grateful if you could have this serious matter looked into ensuring that those responsible for it are booked for playing with the lives of the patients," Deol wrote.