The Health Crisis Due To COVID-19 In India Has Already Reached The Point That Hospitals Refuse To Give Birth

Photo illustration (Prashanth Pinha / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The boom in COVID-19 patients has caused India's health system to collapse. One of the recorded stories is from the experience of a mother who was rejected eight times when she was about to give birth because medical personnel and facilities could no longer accommodate the patient. However, the problem was not only that. The economic downturn and border conflicts with China have made the crisis even more critical.

Neelam Kumari Gautam woke up at 5 am feeling contractions in her stomach. Sign of a baby born soon. With alacrity, her husband took Gautam to the hospital in a rickshaw. However, Gautam had to hold his breath twice. First, because of contractions. Another breath for the absence of a doctor to treat.

"Why won't the doctors accept me?" asked Gautam to her husband, Bijendra Singh. "What's the problem? I want to die," he complained.

Singh started to panic. He knew what he was getting into. As India's new coronavirus crisis escalates, the country's health system is in dire straits. The medical personnel were getting overwhelmed and funds were running dry.

Gautam was rejected by eight hospitals within 15 hours of searching for a delivery place in the Indian metropolitan area before receiving treatment. The story told by The New York Times illustrates how badly the health system is there.

Medical crisis

Recent Indian death data reveal that many people have died on the streets and in ambulances due to the denial of critical care for critical patients. Indian government regulations call for continued emergency services. However, on the ground, rejection is still happening, especially in New Delhi.

The problem is, the rapidly increasing COVID-19 infection has made hospitals in Delhi overloaded. Another problem that is exacerbating is that many medical personnel are starting to fear treating new patients. They are worried about contracting COVID-19, which has killed more than 13,000 people in India.

"Now there is little or no chance of admission to the hospital for COVID-19 patients and patients with other intensive care needs," wrote a statement issued by the German Embassy in New Delhi as quoted by The New York Times.

Meanwhile, after seeing reports on television regarding the large number of bodies in the hospital lobby and the cries of neglected patients, a judge at India's Supreme Court said: the situation in Delhi is dire and sad.

The problem persisted

The crisis was exacerbated by other problems facing Narendra Modi's administration. One of them is the border dispute conflict with China.

Last week, Chinese troops beat 20 Indian soldiers to death in the disputed Himalayan region. This triggered a dangerous dispute between the two countries that possess these nuclear weapons.

At the same time, India's economy is in decline and the pandemic has cost the country more than 100 million jobs. Modi faces a dilemma. Until finally he refused health experts to make the country re-apply the key to keep the economy going.

According to Worldometer, as of June 23, COVID-19 cases had reached 441,643 cases. Meanwhile, the number of deaths due to the disease was 14,027.