Despite being in a severely critical condition, the woman allegedly did not receive timely or adequate medical care, nor was she referred to a higher-level hospital, as claimed by her family. Tragically, within less than three hours after delivering a stillborn child, she passed away at approximately 7 pm.
A disturbing instance of suspected negligence and poor management at a government healthcare facility has come to light in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district. In this heartbreaking case, a woman died shortly after suffering a stillbirth, with her family accusing the hospital of being severely understaffed and ill-equipped to handle such emergencies. The tragedy is even more painful considering that the woman and her husband had been trying to conceive for nearly a decade.
The incident occurred on Saturday at the Manoharpur Community Health Centre (CHC) located in Chaibasa. The woman, identified as 31-year-old Khushbu Khandait, had been admitted to the hospital around 9 am for delivery. Later in the day, at approximately 4:22 pm, she gave birth to a stillborn baby girl. According to her family, following this devastating event, Khushbu went into a state of severe shock.
Her relatives allege that it was at this point that the shortcomings of the hospital became clearly evident. They claim that the facility lacked essential medical personnel, including a qualified gynaecologist, and did not have proper emergency arrangements in place to manage such a critical situation.
The family further stated that, despite her deteriorating condition, Khushbu was neither given appropriate treatment promptly nor referred to a better-equipped hospital. Within a short span of time after the stillbirth, her condition worsened, leading to her death later that evening.
Outraged by the incident, family members and local residents staged a protest within the hospital premises. They accused the facility of suffering from a chronic shortage of medical professionals, particularly surgeons and gynaecologists.
They also pointed out that although an ultrasound machine was available at the hospital, there was no trained technician to operate it, rendering it useless. Additionally, they claimed that emergency medical services at the centre were almost non-existent. Khushbu’s husband, Rohit Khandait, strongly maintained that both his wife and their child could have been saved if timely and proper medical care had been provided.
Sitaram Gop, a local Congress leader and member of the ruling coalition in the state, also voiced serious concerns regarding the condition of the healthcare system. Supporting the claims made by the locals, he stated that the Manoharpur CHC lacked both surgeons and gynaecologists and reiterated that there was no technician available to run the ultrasound machine.
Gop further emphasised that in cases involving complications during delivery, timely examination and immediate referral to a better-equipped medical facility are crucial. He alleged that the failure to take such steps contributed directly to this tragic outcome.
Khushbu’s family has demanded a high-level investigation into the matter and strict action against those found responsible for the alleged negligence.
Reacting to the incident, West Singhbhum’s Civil Surgeon, Dr Jujhar Majhi, expressed his condolences and confirmed that an official inquiry has been initiated. He assured that appropriate and strict action would be taken based on the findings of the investigation.
Addressing concerns about the non-functional ultrasound machine at the Manoharpur CHC, he stated that a technician would soon be appointed to ensure that the equipment becomes operational.
