Pregnant woman denied treatment due to staff crunch

MUMBAI: A 38-year-old heavily pregnant Sunita Masmare was denied treatment at Thane Municipal Hospital on Wednesday due to staff crunch, owing to the Maharashtra government employees’ strike. Later, her family members took her to Kalwa-based municipal hospital where she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

“By the time she reached our hospital her vitals were dropping so we directly took her to the operation theatre. She was brought on time so we could save both her and the baby by afternoon,” said an official from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa.

This is Sunita’s second baby and because she had had a caesarean delivery earlier, the same was done for this baby as well. “The operation went smoothly. So, now she and the baby both are both in a healthy condition,” he added.

Sunil Masmare, her husband, was in shock for a long time as he was worried about complications.

According to a relative, the moment the Thane Municipal Hospital denied admission to Sunita, Sunil started panicking.

 “The hospital staff (of Thane) started telling us that they were short-staffed and immediate surgery was not possible. We were clueless as Sunita was in severe pain,” a relative said. Later, someone suggested Kalwa hospital where Sunita was given appropriate treatment.