The Madras High Court Bench here has directed the State government to pay a compensation of Rs.5 lakh before May 31 to the husband and minor girl child of a woman who died because of the absence of a duty doctor at a Primary Health Centre (PHC), also classified as a 24-hour maternity centre, at Saptur near here on January 1, 2010.
Dismissing a writ appeal filed in 2011 by the government, a Division Bench of Justices V. Ramasubramanian and N. Kirubakaran directed the officials to pay the money within the stipulated time and report compliance by June 2.
Writing the judgment, Mr. Justice Kirubakaran pointed out that the appeal had been preferred against an order passed by Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar (now Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court) on December 10, 2010 though the latter had found the State liable to pay compensation on the basis of medical records.
In his order, Mr. Justice Vasanthakumar had observed that establishing PHCs in rural pockets and classifying them as 24-hour maternity hospitals would be of no use unless the government made sure that duty doctors or medical officers concerned were available round the clock to attend to emergencies.
The victim T. Kannigadevi, wife of a brick kiln labourer, had died due to profuse bleeding after delivering a baby girl at the PHC manned by a staff nurse, the judge said.
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“Non-availability of a doctor in a 24-hour maternity hospital must be viewed seriously by the government which is running a welfare administration for the benefit of the people,” the judge had said .
The Division Bench refused to interfere with his order since it was based on admission of facts by the officials in their counter affidavits.
