CHENNAI: Arappor Iyakkam coordinator Jayaram Venkatesan on Tuesday alleged that the absence of doctors at the Kannagi Nagar Community Health Centre (CHC) had led to the death of a newborn child and placed the life of the mother at risk.

In a statement, he said a pregnant woman experiencing labour pain visited the Kannagi Nagar CHC on Tuesday morning. However, no doctors were available at the facility. According to him, hospital staff arranged an ambulance and referred her to the Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children (Gosha Hospital) after about an hour.

He alleged that by the time the woman reached the hospital, the baby had died. The woman was currently battling for her life, he claimed.

Venkatesan said a similar incident had occurred about a year ago when another woman allegedly lost her life under comparable circumstances. Residents of Kannagi Nagar had staged protests then and were continuing to agitate now, but there had been no improvement in the quality of healthcare services at the facility, he alleged.

Stating that the CHC was projected as a 24-hour maternity care centre, he said it was distressing that residents continued to face hardships due to the alleged non-availability of doctors.

He urged the Tamil Nadu government to explain the circumstances leading to the incident and take corrective action. He also appealed to the government and the media to pay attention to the concerns raised by residents of Kannagi Nagar.