MADURAI
The Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here has clarified that the 28-year-old woman, who is alleged to have been treated for pregnancy for 10 months, was not pregnant during the time she claimed to have been bearing a child as she had already undergone family planning procedure on January 31, 2013.
The State Human Rights Commission, taking suo motu cognisance of a media report, has sought a detailed report within four weeks.
Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, GRH Dean D. Martuthupandi said that her husband, Navaneethakrishnan, 32, and the woman never took a scan though they were specifically and repeatedly advised to do so.
Elaborating on the bizarre case of wrongful diagnosis relating to pregnancy, the Dean said there was medical negligence on the part of Primary Health Centre in Viraganoor for wrongly ascertaining the pregnancy. He added that the couple had falsified some documents and never told doctors about the family planning procedure. However, he admitted that the hospital did not probe the case enough to find loopholes.
Recently, the couple had petitioned the Collector seeking action against the GRH for wrongful treatment for pregnancy.
Tracing the woman’s hospital history, the Dean said that she had visited the PHC with a Urine Pregnancy Test in August last year. “The Village Head Nurse took down the details of her last menstrual period. She relied on the UPT for confirmation of pregnancy and took a basic blood test,” he said. He said that the scan report produced by the woman too did not prove that she was pregnant.
The woman was told that her due date was July 1. When she arrived on May 31 to the hospital, doctors informed the couple that she was not pregnant and that she might have a tumour. But there was no tumour in the scan reports presented to the Collector.
The doctors admitted that they had not checked her previous scan records thoroughly because they felt that one would not usually lie about pregnancy.
The woman also received ₹4,000 every trimester under Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Maternity Benefit Scheme. Deputy Director of Health Services K. V. Arjun Kumar said that a woman should produce records for pregnancy and seek assistance within the first 12 weeks of the last menstrual period. The applicant must be below poverty line and assistance would be provided only for the first two deliveries. “She had tampered with the documents. Also, she has three children from her first husband. She is definitely not eligible for the monetary assistance,” he said.
He added that since the fault was on the medical officials as well, departmental action had been taken against the Village Head Nurse of Viraganoor PHC. “We are also contemplating lodging a complaint with the police against the couple,” he said.
