A PREGNANT woman was allegedly denied treatment at a government hospital in Ambedkar Nagar district on Tuesday evening as she is HIV-positive.

She delivered the baby outside the hospital gate.

A resident of Jahageeraganj, the 28-year-old woman had gone to Mahatma Jyotiba Phule District Hospital after she went into labour. Her husband is also HIV-positive.

Manoj Mishra, a social activist, who informed the district administration about the incident, said: “The doctors and other employees refused to treat the woman, as she was HIV-positive. They asked the family to take her somewhere else.” While being taken to another hospital, she delivered a boy just outside the gate of the government hospital, he added.

“The staff at the district hospital knew the couple very well, as both have gone through the tests in this hospital and have been found HIV-positive,” said Mishra.

District Chief Medical Officer Liaqat Ali said: “An inquiry has been initiated into the incident. It is yet to be established that treatment was denied because the patient was HIV-positive.”

Asked about the condition of the mother and the newborn, Ali said: “Both are doing fine. They are under our supervision.”