The Government of Maharashtra and Public Health Department on Friday called for a high-level enquiry to evaluate the healthcare system in remote areas of the district. Representational file image.
| Photo Credit: P.V. Sivakumar

Following two maternal and a neonatal death in a month, the Government of Maharashtra and Public Health Department on Friday has called for a high-level enquiry in the Palghar district of Maharashtra to evaluate the quality of healthcare service and assess the access to medical services in the tribal dominated district.  

On December 31, 2024, 31-year-old Kunta Vaibhav Padvale, died while in labour. Ms. Padvale from Galtare village in Vikramgad taluka in Palghar district, came on her due date to a primary health centre (PHC) at 2 p.m. on December 31, 2024. She was then referred to Rural Hospital Vikramgad in Tambdipada.  

At 4 p.m., she reached the rural hospital where the medical officer on duty examined her and felt the size of her womb was bigger than usual. The doctor called up the gynaecologist at the Jawhar sub-district hospital to inform them about Ms. Padvale’s condition. She was then transferred to Jawhar sub-district hospital around 30 kms away. 

Civil Surgeon Palghar District, Dr. Ramdas Marada, said, “At 11.15 p.m. she went into active labour, but by 11.55 p.m. she seemed exhausted and could not push the baby anymore. She experienced epilepsy, her body became stiff, and she collapsed. The doctors gave cardiac massage but her heart and blood flow had stopped. The doctors used forceps delivery to save the baby but within those crucial 10 minutes, the baby had died.” 

The post-mortem report has reserved the cause of death as of now because the team of doctors have sent samples of heart and lungs tissues and cells for chemical analysis to examine the histopathological report.   

A senior health official examining the post-mortem of the patient said that three months into the pregnancy she was detected with Hepatitis B (HBV) infection.  

“Another complication she had was severe Polyhydramnios, that was revealed in her last ultrasonography report. This condition occurs during pregnancy when there is too much amniotic fluid around the developing fetus. It’s also known as hydramnios or amniotic fluid disorder that can occur at any time during pregnancy, but it’s most common in the second and third trimesters and the earlier it occurs and the more fluid there is, the higher the risk of complications. When a pregnant woman has this condition the amniotic fluid embolism during labour can enter the lungs and that could cause complication which is a possibility of her death. It is a rare but life-threatening complication that can occur during labor and delivery. The normal count of amniotic fluid is 10 to 15 cm, but in Ms. Padvale’s case, the court was 33 cm,” the doctor said.  

This is a second maternal death in a single month. On December 26, 2024, another woman died due to medical complications. The Government of Maharashtra and Public Health Department on Friday called for a high-level enquiry to evaluate the healthcare system in remote areas of the district.  

Dr. Marada said the health department is in urgent need of manpower in the region. There are 91 approved positions for MBBS medical officers but only 33 positions are filled and there are 31 sanctioned positions for specialist medical officers such as gynaecologist, paediatrician and anesthetics for which only 13 positions are filled.  

To meet the vacancy in remote areas, Dr. Marada said, “For now we have decided to depute the available medical staff on rotation basis to every remote area. We want the State government to help us fill these vacancies so that we can cater to patients on time. Recruiting medical staff is challenging because usually healthcare staff do not prefer working in remote regions but in metro cities.”