Uterus of 226 women removed in Rajasthan hospitals

HNN JAIPUR BUREAU

Three private hospitals in Rajasthan's Dausa district removed the uterus of 226 women last year and earned about Rs 14,000 from each patient, an RTI application filed by an NGO has found.

As the private hospitals were recognised for delivery under the government scheme 'Janani Suraksha Yozna', the facts were revealed through RTI from the office of state medical and health department.

In the wake of the report, the district administration has ordered an inquiry into the matter by a three-member committee led by chief medical and health officer, Dausa, OP Meena.

Referring to the facts revealed through the RTI reply, general secretary of the Dausa-based NGO Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, Durga Prasad said that three private nursing homes/hospitals removed uterus of 226 women out of 385 women patients who had visited the hospitals from March to September last year.

The activist claimed that it was a big number and the doctors removed the uterus even when it was not necessary.

"They feared patients that infection in the patient's body will spread if they do not undergo surgery to remove the uterus, and thus they earned Rs 12,000 to 14,000 from each patient by operating upon them," Prasad said.

Meena said, "It is too early to establish the fact that the doctors removed uterus just to extract money and there was no infection. We are collecting medical investigation reports in the cases to find out the truth".

"We have seized the records of five hospitals and process to record statements of women and doctors is going on. Though the hospitals are recognised by the government for delivery cases under Janani Suraksha Yozna, it has nothing to do with this issue," he said.

One of the women who underwent the surgery but did not wish to be identified said, "I had a constant stomach ache and they removed by uterus, but the pain did not go. Then I went to Jaipur for treatment and it was found that I was wrongly operated upon".

Another victim said, "The doctor asked me to get my uterus removed, otherwise I would die. So I underwent the operation for which we spent about Rs 15,000. I am still not cured".

The incident comes close on the heels of the death of 17 pregnant women in Jodhpur district after being given contaminated glucose.