Health Crisis in Surguja: Court Steps In

The Chhattisgarh High Court has initiated suo moto proceedings after a 25-year-old woman was forced to deliver a baby on the floor of a health centre in Surguja district due to the absence of medical staff. The Health Department secretary has been directed to submit a personal affidavit regarding the incident.

The Chhattisgarh High Court has launched suo moto proceedings following a distressing incident where a 25-year-old woman delivered her baby on the floor of a health centre in Surguja district due to the absence of doctors and nurses, highlighting severe lapses in the healthcare system.

The Health Department secretary has been instructed to submit a personal affidavit concerning the incident. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, took notice after a newspaper reported that on June 8, the woman delivered her child at the Navanagar Sub-Health Centre (SHC) in the absence of any medical staff.

The report mentioned that the woman's family and a community health worker attempted to contact medical officials to no avail, forcing the community health worker to assist in the delivery. Postnatal care was carried out by a traditional midwife. The bench expressed deep concern over recurring incidents and called for stringent measures by the state government to address such severe healthcare deficiencies.