Man says pregnant wife made to shift between hospitals, reports mixed up

A 34-year-old nine-month pregnant woman from Balkaum, Thane, had to go through a harrowing experience after she had to shift between three hospitals owing to confusion pertaining to her Covid-19 test results, her husband has claimed. The woman has tested positive in her latest report and has been admitted to a Covid facility near Thane railway station.

The woman was informed that she tested positive for Covid-19 by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa, on Thursday, after which she was admitted to the Covid ward of Thane Civil Hospital at Tembhi Naka the same evening. However, on Friday, Thane Civil Hospital authorities asked her family to shift her to BYL Nair Hospital in Mumbai as they did not have anaesthetic or Caesarean facilities. “We didn’t have her reports when they shifted her to Nair Hospital in an ambulance. Later, Thane Civil Hospital sent her report to Mumbai. But when the reports arrived, Nair Hospital informed us that the name and address on the report was of a different woman and my wife may not be Covidpositive,” her husband said.

The family then got her to the Kalwa hospital where she underwent a test again and was found positive. Her husband has alleged that his wife was made to stay in the Covid ward despite not being positive, due to which she contracted the virus. “For four months, my wife had not stepped out of the house. So we were also surprised when she tested positive the first time,” her husband said. As she is asymptomatic, she has now been sent to a Covid facility near Thane station.

Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) said that there has been no mix up and the woman had been Covid-positive since the beginning. “Our lab [at Kalwa] has given the right report in which the name and address of the patient was correct,” said Thane civic commissioner Vijay Singhal said.

Thane Civil Hospital said that though they may have sent Nair Hospital the wrong report, the woman had never tested negative. Kailash Pawar, civil surgeon of Thane Civil Hospital, said, “It is true that we had to ask her to shift to Nair Hospital as we are not equipped for her delivery. Our doctor only checked the last name and gave the report to Nair Hospital without verifying if it’s the same person. However, she should have asked for her reports at the Kalwa hospital where she was tested.”