‘When it comes to saving a life, every second counts and delay by even a few minutes can cause the death of a person,’, the court observed.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday, July 2, ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to a man who lost his wife due to non-availability of an ambulance at the Rajakamangalam primary healthcare centre (PHC) in Kanyakumari district. The woman died on June 26. Justice N Anand Venkatesh observed, “When it comes to saving a life, every second counts and delay by even a few minutes can cause the death of a person. Therefore, when it comes to medical emergencies, delay can never be condoned like how leniently we condone in courts,” as reported by LiveLaw.
According to the order, M Lingadurai’s wife was admitted at the PHC to deliver their baby at 6 pm on June 25. A baby girl was born to the couple in the wee hours of June 26. However, soon after the delivery, the woman started to bleed excessively. The doctor at the PHC advised a blood transfusion and recommended her to be shifted to the Arasipallam medical college hospital. However, there was no ambulance available at the PHC, and the staff nurse called the 108 ambulance helpline at 5.15 am. The ambulance reached the PHC only at 5.45 am, and reached the medical college hospital at 6.30 am, following which the woman passed away.
The cause of death was attributed to postpartum haemorrhage, the order said. The petitioner, Lingadurai, subsequently filed a petition stating that he lost his wife due to non-availability of an ambulance at the PHC, which caused delay in reaching the medical college. Lingadurai urged compensation for the same.
Justice Anand observed, “Every PHC is supposed to have an ambulance readily available to shift patients in case of emergency. It is an admitted case that the PHC was regularly dealing with delivery cases and they have to expect an emergency at any time, and they cannot afford to run a centre without an ambulance.”
However, the counter-affidavit filed at the court stated that the PHC in question did not rely on the 108 ambulances, but operates with a separate ‘Hospital On Wheels Vehicle Van’, which attends to the needs of people in remote villages. The court highlighted that 4-6% of women face postpartum haemorrhage during delivery. It also clarified that the doctor is not accountable for the woman’s death, as the fault lay with the non-availability of an ambulance.
Source: The News Minute