"Quality Healthcare": Visuals Contradict Madhya Pradesh Policy Promise

When asked about the poor conditions, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Dr Prabhuram Chaudhary said, "We can't be negative all the time."

The Madhya Pradesh government's health care policy says "irrespective of age, gender, and place" people have the right to access high quality and affordable healthcare. A series of disturbing visuals that have emerged in the past few days from various parts of the state, however, call out the hollowness of the claim. Last week, a video clip began making the rounds on social media showing the conditions inside the maternity ward of the district hospital in Shajapur, around 156 kilometres west of Bhopal. It had four persons -- two new mothers and their babies -- on one bed. Bearing immense pain following delivery, the women were strapped for space. Their relatives slept on the floor besides them. "In these times of corona, proximity to other patients scares us, but we have no choice. My daughter is admitted," said one such relative, too scared to reveal her identity.