PRESS RELEASE

New Delhi, 24th February, 2016

The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognizance of two media reports describing how the two expecting mothers, suffering from HIV+ve and Hepatitis B, respectively, were made to shuttle from one hospital to another and still denied treatment by Government Hospitals in Madhya Pradesh.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the press reports, if true, raise serious issue of violation of human rights of the victims due to apathetic attitude of the medical staff at the Government Hospitals. Accordingly, it has issued a notice to the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh directing him to get enquired into the allegations made in the press reports and submit a report within four weeks.

In the first case, according to the media report, a pregnant lady, who had been HIV positive for last eight years, approached the Civil Surgeon, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, with her sonography report, where she was advised to go to the Hamidiya Hospital, Bhopal, as the hospital at Vidisha, did not have appropriate facilities to operate upon the HIV positive patient.

Reportedly, the woman, along with her husband, approached the Chief Minister's House for help. The officials of the CM House gave them a letter for treatment at Sultania Women Hospital, Bhopal. On approaching that hospital, they were further referred to ART Centre, Indore. Accordingly, the couple went to the ART Centre. But the doctor at ART Centre asked them to first get the financial assistance from the CM Fund, as they were BPL card holder. However, they were not given the estimate of expenditure for the treatment to enable them to apply for the grant from CM or PM Fund.

In the other case, as reported, another pregnant lady was denied treatment at District Hospital, Satna with an excuse that she was suffering from Hepatitis-B and her condition was serious, hence, she was being referred to the Reeva Medical College. But, she was not in a position to be taken to the Medical College, Reeva which is 52 kilometers away from Satna, hence, she was forced to deliver the child at a private hospital in Satna.

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