Shillong, June 7: Meghalaya Assembly’s Women Empowerment Committee has asked the state government to institute an inquiry into the death of a young pregnant woman in Dangar primary health centre (PHC) and punish the medical team, if found guilty, on duty on the night of June 05, 2021.

In a letter to the state health minister AL Hek on Monday, member of the Assembly Committee and Congress legislator from Mawsynram, Himalaya M. Shangpliang said, “In view of the above, I would to request you through the Women Empowerment Committee to kindly direct the government to institute an inquiry into the tragic incident which resulted in the loss of a precious life due to negligence and careless attitude of the doctor and the nurses on duty… The medical team on duty on the fateful night should be held accountable and responsibilities should be fixed. The guilty should be punished as per law.”

He also asked the government to remove the NGO (VHAM) that is running the PHC due to lots of public complaints, shortcomings in providing adequate health services and non-compliance of the terms of references as entered between the NHM and the NGO.

“Therefore, either a separate NGO with a sound performance background is brought or the health department has to take over the PHC again,” Shangpliang said while also demanding the government to provide necessary ex-gratia assistance to the family of the deceased who died due to negligence of the medical authorities of the Dangar PHC.

On June 5, Shanpliang along with the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Mawsynram Block and other officials had visited Dangar to inquire into the incident. He said the doctor who was on duty that fateful night reported that the pregnant woman by the name of Muny R Marak aged 28 years was brought to the PHC around 11 pm.

She was duly examined and the doctor observed that she was not due yet for delivery. The pregnant woman was kept in the normal ward although she was in labour pain throughout the night. Also, according to the relatives of the woman who were attending to her in the PHC, that at 5 am they went to look for the doctor and the nurses but were informed that they had all gone to their residences.

Meanwhile, the pregnant woman who was in severe labour pain delivered the baby on her own without the help of the medical team, and by the time the doctor and the nurses arrived it was too late and could not handle the complications that occurred due to the rupture of the placenta and other related issues. Shangpliang said when the doctor saw the condition of the woman deteriorating, he referred her to the Mawsynram CHC but the woman breathed her last on the way to Shillong.