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INDIA: Neglect of Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital to provide emergency medical treatment to a pregnant woman

November 5, 2004

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

5 November 2004
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UA-144-2004: INDIA: Neglect of Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital to provide emergency medical treatment to a pregnant woman

INDIA: Right to health; Neglect of the government hospitals to patients
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM, a human rights organization in West Bengal, that a nine-months pregnant woman was not provided timely medical treatment by Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital, Vishnupur in Bankura District, West Bengal, India. Due to this act of the hospital, the woman had to carry the dead baby for nearly one week without any appropriate treatment.

As the employees of the government hospitals are regarded as government servants, please send a letter to the local authorities to take disciplinary action against the responsible person(s) and compensate the victim. Please also call for the government of India to improve the medical service environment in government hospitals without delay.
 
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Ms. Phalguni Chongdar, wife of Amit Chongdar, nine months pregnant
Place of the incident: Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital, Vishnupur in Bankura District, West Bengal, India
Case status: Neglect of the government hospital to provide emergency medical treatment to a patient

Case details: (Based on the account of the victim's husband)

From her early stage of pregnancy, Ms Phalguni Chongdar was under care of a gynecologist attached to Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital in Bankura District, West Bengal, India. When she was nine-months pregnant, Ms Phalguni Chongdar was admitted to the hospital on 19 October 2004 according to the recommendation of the said gynecologist. After examining her, the gynecologist advised Ms Phalguni Chongdar to take an ultra sonography test (USG) as the baby did not respond well to the treatment.

However, although Ms Phalguni Chongdar waited for three days, the hospital did not schedule nor conduct a USG for her. Finally, her husband, with great anxiety, managed to prepare the money and let his wife take the test at his own expense at a private clinic on October 22. It was a great shock to Ms Phalguni Chongdar to see the test report that showed the baby was already dead.

The result of the test was immediately informed to Vishnupur Sub-divisional Hospital. However, although the baby died due to neglect of the concerned gynecologist and the hospital authority, Dr. Taritkanti Pal, on behalf of the hospital, merely told Ms Phalguni and her husband that the USG could not be conducted on the victim due to lack of human resources as only one staff was managing the USG during the Puja vacation. The victim's husband also reported that no immediate and effective measure was taken by the hospital in order to remove the dead baby from his wife's womb.

Accordingly, the sister of Ms Phalguni Chongdar complained to Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO)-Vishnupur, Smt. Indrani Saha about the incident, who went to the hospital and had a meeting with the doctors and relatives of Ms Phalguni Chongdar to settle the matter. After the meeting, the SDO said that the hospital promised that the child would be delivered by applying medicine soon so Ms Phalguni Chongdar's life would be safe. Consequently, the victim received surgery at the hospital as promised. However, the woman's father criticized the hospital saying that it had done nothing for seven days since his daughter's admission at the hospital and for five days after being informed of the baby's death.

The AHRC is deeply concerned by this serious case. The actions of Vishnupur Sub-divisional Hospital are in clear violation of Ms Phalguni Chongdar's constitutional right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and the Supreme Court judgment, Paschim Banga khet Mazdoor Samity versus State of West Bengal 1996 SOL Case No. 169.

In particular, this case is against the said Supreme Court judgment, which strictly indicated that the government hospitals and the medical officers in them are duty bound to extend medical assistance to preserve human life. The judgment also directed the central and state governments to ensure that immediate medical aid be provided to serious patients or injured persons and further directed the government of India to render necessary assistance to improve medical services in the country.                

In fact, it is just one story of so many people who are suffering from disfunctioning public health care system in India.  The health service in government hospitals has collapsed due to the deliberate mismanagement of the Indian government. As a result, the people have been constrained to go to private clinics in spite of extremely high treatment costs. While the central and state governments have not taken any serious action to improve medical services in the country, the poor people are dying due to negligent treatment or denial of treatment in the government hospitals.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the Indian government authorities and request them to take disciplinary action against responsible person(s) in the hospital and compensate the victim.

Sample letter:

Dear ___________,

Re: INDIA: Neglect of Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital to provide emergency medical treatment to a pregnant woman

Name of the victim: Ms. Phalguni Chongdar, wife of Amit Chongdar, nine months pregnant
Place of the incident: Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital, Vishnupur in Bankura District, West Bengal, India

I was shocked to learn the case of Ms Phalguni Chongdar, a nine-months pregnant woman.

According to the information I have received, even though a gynecologist attached to Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital knew of the serious condition of this women, he did not ensure timely treatment to her, which resulted in her baby's death.

Moreover, the attitude of Vishnupur Sub-Divisional Hospital was beyond belief. Although the hospital authority had learned of the death of the baby in the womb of the woman, they did not take any serious and effective action to guarantee the victim's life, so Ms. Phalguni Chongdar had to carry the dead baby in her for nearly one week without any treatment. Instead, a hospital representative allegedly made an excuse that they could not provide proper medical treatment due to lack of human resources during Puja vacation. Only after a sub-divisional officer intervened into this matter, the hospital agreed to conduct surgery on the woman to remove the dead baby.

I am deeply concerned that the act of the hospital in this case is in clear violation of the people's constitutional right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and the Supreme Court judgment, Paschim Banga khet Mazdoor Samity versus State of West Bengal 1996 SOL Case No. 169.

As the employees of the government hospitals are regarded as government servants, I strongly urge you to inquire into the incident and take disciplinary action against the responsible person(s). The victim should be provided appropriate medical attention by the hospital and compensated as well. I also urge the government of India to improve the medical service environment in government hospitals without delay.

Yours truly,


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SEND A LETTER:

1. Shri. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
President of India
Rashtrapathi Bhavan
New Delhi -110001
INIDA
Tel: +91 11 23015321
Fax: + 91 11 23017290 / 23017824
E-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in

2. Justice A. S. Anand
Chairman
National Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhaven, Sansad Marg
New Delhi 110 001
INDIA
Tel: + 91 11 23346244
Fax: + 91 11 23366537
E-mail: ionhrc@hub.nic.in or chairnhrc@nic.in

3. Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya
Chief Minister and Home Minister
Government of West Bengal
Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91 33 2214 5480

4. Dr. Surjya Kanta Mishra, Panchayat
Minister of Rural Development and Health
Government of West Bengal
Writers Buildings, Kolkata-1
West Bengal
INDIA
Tel: +91 33 2214 5600/5672 or 4117
E-mail: micprd@wb.gov.in

5. Justice Shyamal Kumar Sen
Chairman
West Bengal Human Rights Commission
Bhavani Bhavan
Alipur, Kolkata-27
West Bengal
INDIA
Fax: +91-33-2479 9633
Email: wbhrc@cal3.vsnl.net.in

6. Mr. Paul HUNT
Special Rapporteur of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 90 06


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-144-2004
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.