Bengaluru: Woman gives birth in auto after denied treatment by 3 hospitals; Baby dies

Bengaluru: In a tragic incident, a newborn baby died inside the auto-rickshaw outside Bengaluru’s KC General Hospital on Sunday, July 19 after the mother was turned away from at least three other state-run facilities.

As per sources, the Srirampura Government Hospital, Victoria Hospital, and Vanivilas, which is the maternity wing of Victoria, all said they had no beds to accommodate a pregnant woman on the verge of giving birth. Victoria Hospital, which does take up serious cases, is a designated COVID-19 facility.

The woman began to go into labor at 3 AM on Sunday and the hunt for a hospital bed begun. Six hours later they still couldn’t get a hospital bed and medical aid, leaving her helpless and forced to deliver inside an auto-rickshaw, the driver of which then took her to KC General.

Following the incident, Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah appealed to the CM BS Yediyurappa to take action all those hospitals that denied treatment.

“A pregnant woman, who was experiencing labor pain, was denied treatment by many hospitals in Bengaluru. She lost her newborn baby after delivering it in an auto-rickshaw. @CMofKarnataka, I urge you to take action against all those hospitals that denied treatment,” he tweeted.

“More non-covid patients are dying in Karnataka due to denial of treatment by hospitals. @CMofKarnataka, cancel the licenses of all those hospitals that deny treatments. Just a mere warning will not move hospitals,” he said in a second tweet.

On Saturday a grieving father protested in front of the Chief Minister’s residence after his month-old daughter died. Hospital beds in Bengaluru are rapidly becoming a scarce commodity following a surge in COVID-19 cases.