A woman in her labor pains died Wednesday night in Biratnagar of Morang, the capital of Province 1, allegedly after her admission was refused by the district's largest government hospital.
Bimala Rishived's 30-year-old family from Biratnagar-6 didn't have enough money to admit her to a private health facility which, according to neighbors, could treat her effectively.
The family living in a village of landless squatters couldn't even handle its funeral expenses. Later the last rites were supported by provincial legislator Kedar Karki of the Nepali Congress.
The deceased’s neighbor Akshaya Sahani says the Koshi Hospital in the city refused to admit her citing it could not perform a C-section on her as she already had undergone the process while giving births to her two children in the past decade. “Their family’s (economic) status was poor, so they did not have any place to go after the government hospital refused,” he informs.
In the meantime, the medical superintendent of the hospital, Dr. Chuman Lal Das, says that no one at his facility is permitted to refuse admission to a woman coming for delivery. He promises prosecution will be the case, and action will be taken against those involved in the incident.