Health Dept: Woman gave birth alone as it was far earlier than expected

 

The Johor Health Department has offered an explanation on why a Covid-19 patient had given birth alone at the Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Bahru.

In a statement last night, department head Dr Aman Rabu said the delivery had taken place six hours earlier than expected and that was why the patient was by herself.

“The patient (above) was Covid-19 positive and had to be placed in an isolation room.

“The delivery process happened unexpectedly, it happened six hours ahead of the expected delivery time.

“The patient had given birth alone and the baby was found on her bed,” he said.

Elaborating, Aman explained that hospital staff had to undergo a “donning” process before they could tend to the Covid-19 patient.

This process is understood to mean putting on personal protective equipment.

As for the patient’s allegations that staff ignored her cries when she heard laughter coming from outside her room, the official said the laughter could have emanated from a nearby labour ward.

“Nevertheless, the department will investigate this incident further and make the necessary improvements,” he added.

The Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Bahru is so overcrowded with Covid-19 patients that they have to wait under tents to be allocated beds

Aman provided an account of events that showed that the patient was attended to during her stay at the hospital.

After she was admitted at 5.33am on July 23, a medical officer had tended to her, tested her and had her placed in an isolation ward at 10.18am. Staff checked on her again at 4.26pm.

After the patient was confirmed as a Covid-19 case, Aman said an on-call specialist had decided on caesarean delivery.

At the time, the patient was found to have minimal dilation and irregular contractions. She was thus prepared for surgery.

She later gave birth in isolation, through natural delivery.

Ignored and bleeding

This incident comes as Covid-19 cases in Johor have been on the rise. Daily case numbers have consistently surpassed 1,000 since the end of July.

The state has recorded 24,650 cases in the past two weeks, the fourth-highest nationwide.

Last month, the woman in question shared her harrowing account on Facebook about being left alone in the isolation ward as she delivered her baby.

At about 6pm that day, she began feeling unbearable stomach pains and found herself bleeding.

“I tried calling for nurses and doctors one more time, but disappointingly, they did not respond,” she said.

She then had a quick natural delivery but her infant almost fell off her bed.

“My baby almost fell from the hospital bed, but luckily I managed to hold my kid using both my legs.

“It took me about 10 minutes of shouting for the doctors and nurses to come. But it was disappointing albeit I could hear them laughing outside,” she said.

The woman’s post was dated July 31 but Facebook users began sharing her post a month later, on Aug 31. - Mkini