Locals obstruct Galchhi-Trishuli road; demand compensation for deceased new mother

DHADING: Locals and relatives of a woman who died from postpartum complications due to delayed treatment, have obstructed Galchhi-Trishuli road in Belkotgadhi Municipality-7 of Nuwakot district since early morning today.

The demonstrators have disrupted the road demanding the government to take responsibility for the woman's death and compensate the bereaved family providing support to the newborn.

The woman identified as Goma Osti (35) of Mahadevphanta in the municipality gave birth to a baby at the Trishuli Hospital in Nuwakot, yesterday morning. But about an hour later, she started bleeding from her uterus.

It has been learned that the hospital authority had called the district's family planning officer to make available a helicopter for an emergency airlift of postpartum haemorrhage patient to Kathmandu. It took several hours before the hospital authorities could make contacts with the Home Ministry and Hello Sarkar, and request for the airlift facilities. However, their request was denied as the district adjoining Kathmandu does not come under President's Women Uplift Programme that was created at the Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens last year.

At last moment, the hospital authority with the help of a local representative arranged a private helicopter and airlifted the patient with haemorrhage to the Maharajgunj-based Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital. But it was too late to save her as she had suffered a huge loss of blood.