New Delhi: Twenty-four-old Asha Devi, who was five months pregnant, died after a delay in getting an antigen test and a lack of oxygen, as her relatives rushed her between several hospitals which refused to admit her.

The Times of India reported that Asha Devi was initially being treated for typhoid at Almora district hospital in Uttarakhand. After she developed breathing difficulties, she was referred to Base Hospital, as the district hospital did not have antigen test kits.

According to Amar Ujala, Asha Devi had already been refused treatment, as they suspected she had COVID-19, before being admitted to district hospital.

At Base Hospital, her test report came negative, but the newspaper said that her condition had already deteriorated by that time.

Despite that, Base Hospital at Almora provided an oxygen cylinder, but refused to admit her, stating that it only treated COVID-19 patients.

Her family then rushed her back to the district hospital. “The oxygen cylinder Base Hospital gave us ran out within 20 minutes. We begged for another cylinder at the district hospital and the adjoining district female hospital, but the authorities refused, saying they did not have one to spare,” Asha Devi’s brother-in-law Sundar Singh Bisht told TOI.

Also read: Kolkata: Teen's Death After 3 Hospitals Refuse Entry Puts Focus on Collapsing Health System

The family members pointed out that the travel between the various hospitals had taken a toll on her fragile health, which caused her death.

Asha Devi was declared dead at district hospital at around 7.30 pm on Thursday (August 20).

Senior officials at Almora district hospital said that order for antigen tests had been placed over a month ago, but had yet to arrive.

While hospital’s Principal Medical superintendent R.C. Pant said that patient’s attendant had not approached the right officials for a oxygen cylinder, another official stated that the relatives had never ask for one.

“Breathlessness cannot be treated at our hospital as we treat only gynaecology-related problems. Also, the attendant of the deceased hadn’t asked for any oxygen cylinder from us,” Kamla Singh, senior medical officer at Almora district hospital told TOI.

The chief medical officer of Almora district, Savita Hyanki announced that she has asked for an audit report from all three hospitals. She added that all hospitals had been advised to ensure that emergency patients’ rapid antigen test should be done at the hospital itself.

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