HEALTH DISPARITY IN RURAL INDIA

It was a bright and sunny day. The sun shone brilliantly in the clear, blue sky.

"Good morning ", said a pregnant woman of 32 weeks named Bindu said in her local language who came for a routine checkup.

"How are you feeling", I asked her. She told me that nowadays it is really difficult to breathe and she feels pretty tired these days told her it is common to feel these symptoms.

I checked her body temperature, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and pulse. I examined her to know about the fetal breech position and auscultated fetal heartbeat through a stethoscope. After clinical examination, I asked her to do a USG scan, urine test, etc.

After 2 hours, the pregnant lady came with the required reports. She asked me anxiously "Is everything normal?". I answered her "The fetus is completely healthy inside her womb. Don't worry". She felt very happy. Even the smile of the patient gives us a good vibe and uplifts our positive mind. I told her the end delivery date and asked her to get admitted before that date. I came to know she is a tribal girl from Nirtu village.

Well, I am Anusha, an M.B.B.S passed out of graduate and joined the DNB family medicine course in JSS hospital located in Ganiyari. I joined here by getting inspired by Dr.Yogesh Jain,  a gem of humanity, who started Jan Swasthya Sahyog to provide cost-effective health care to more than 3 lakh tribal people in India.

The catastrophic gas leak occurred in 1984 .i.e., the Bhopal tragedy, where Methyl isocyanate leaked, turned the city into a gas and death chamber. At that time, young medical students like Dr.Yogesh Jain, and his colleagues, seniors gave antidote sodium thiosulfate to affected people without informing the government to help them. Since there was a lot of crowd and. commotion in an area of Bhopal, even medical students with Dr.Yogesh got arrested, went, to jail and released after a day. This incident made up his mind to work in rural areas.

He was also a voracious reader who read Gandhi's works on Poverty and Swarajya, mainly the Book "Rakku's story" which influenced s mind. Soon after completing MD pediatrics, he applied for a piece of land in Ganiyari Panchayat and started this JSS hospital I have joined now. He married Dr.Rachana, MD obstetrics and gynecology only in the condition that his wife is willing to work in rural areas.

4 weeks passed by. I was in OT(Operation Theatre). Suddenly, an emergency case came. It was none other than Bindu. She was in prolonged labor pain. Dr.Rachana immediately asked me to perform a cesarean section on her. She assisted me. But the baby was born dead and Bindu suffered major multiple birth passage injuries due to prolonged labor. I felt really sad.  When the news was announced to Bindu, she felt numb and in disbelief. Her face is full of emotions with sorrow and crying.

On knowing her history, I came to know that she called the ambulance telling she was in labor around 8 p.m.Her village is 48 km from the hospital. The vehicle reached her village in no time, but only on the side of the river which separated the main road from the village. She waited in advanced labor from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. till the water receded. After the water receded in the river, she was soon brought to the hospital.

No women in the city would have suffered this ignominy. It's simply because of the lack of a bridge across the river in the village.

The baby died due to inequity in health care.

Is this incident happened due to the mistake of Bindu/Ambulance driver/Doctors/Government?

Please comment ur views...