'Dropped pregnant woman at SKIMS without briefing': Family alleges medical negligence at Ganderbal, Officials deny

June 14, 2025 by News Desk

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Rayees Shah

A 21-year-old pregnant woman from Dodarhama in Ganderbal district was referred to Srinagar’s SKIMS hospital late Friday night after allegedly being made to wait for hours at the District Hospital Ganderbal without receiving proper treatment.

The family has accused the hospital of negligence and mishandling the case, leading to a potentially life-threatening delay. The claim has been denied by the hospital officials.

Arizoo Amin, a first-time mother aged 21, was admitted to the district hospital at around 11 A.M. on Friday. Her family claims that despite showing signs of obstructed labour, doctors delayed the surgery throughout the day.

“They made us wait the whole day, telling us the surgery would be done at night,” said a relative of Arizoo, speaking to The Kashmiriyat. “But at around 11 P.M., they told us they had a shortage of staff and equipment and referred her to SKIMS Soura.”

The situation worsened, the family alleges, during the transfer to SKIMS. According to them, the patient was accompanied by interns instead of qualified doctors.

“At SKIMS, the interns just left us at the gate. They didn’t even speak to the doctors inside or explain anything about the case. It was as if they had dropped off a package. The SKIMS doctors were shocked and asked why no proper handover was done. They had no idea about her condition or medical history,” the relative said.

He added, “What if something had happened to her on the way? Who would take responsibility then? This is not just negligence; it’s a complete failure of the system.”

When contacted, officials at the District Hospital Ganderbal denied the allegations of negligence.

“We usually conduct trial labour before surgery. In this case, the patient was diagnosed with obstructed labour late in the evening, and since we do not have a gynecologists’ available at night, she was referred to SKIMS,” said a Dr. Nighat, Medical superintendent of the hospital told The Kashmiriyat. Dr. Nighat, however, soon rebutted her claim and said that gynecologists’ are available at the hospital even during the night hours.

On the allegations of improper referral and absence of doctors during the transfer, the hospital claimed to have launched an internal inquiry.

“It is not true that the patient was dropped off without being officially handed over. We are verifying the details, especially the claim that only interns accompanied the patient. If any lapse is found, appropriate action will be taken,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Arizoo is currently undergoing treatment at SKIMS Soura. Her family continues to demand accountability and has called on the health department to investigate the matter thoroughly.