A pregnant woman has died in Kokshetau. For several days she suffered symptoms of severe acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI), but never received the necessary care from doctors in the regional centre of Akmola Region. The mother of the deceased, in her appeal to the head of state, detailed the tragedy that occurred on 23 December.
Ainash Ustazhanova was a mother of two sons; her elder son has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, while the younger is only two years old. Her third pregnancy was complicated. As reported by the deceased's husband, Ainash was under the care of a gynaecologist due to a high risk of pregnancy pathology. A caesarean section had been planned for Astana.
On 22 December, the woman, at 36 weeks of pregnancy, was taken to the city hospital with a high fever. According to her mother, Ainash and her husband were in the hospital for about 8 hours waiting for test results.
"By this time, my wife was feeling worse and worse. Then the doctors came out and said they were sending us to the maternity hospital. The maternity hospital building and the city hospital are about 300 metres apart. The doctors could see she was pregnant and unwell, but they didn't provide an escort or an ambulance," the deceased's husband recounted.
At the maternity hospital, it was discovered that Ainash had started bleeding. However, the doctors assured them it was not critical and sent the couple back to the city hospital, refusing emergency hospital admission. There, they were again left in the corridor to wait for tests. The deceased's husband noted that by then Ainash had developed shortness of breath and her skin had turned red.
After some time, the couple was again referred to the maternity hospital, where Ainash was given a couch in the corridor. Her husband recalls that due to a lack of air, she could no longer speak. Doctors said they would transfer Ainash to the Centre for Infectious Diseases (CID) only the next day.
At midnight, the desperate couple returned home. Ainash received no help, and her condition deteriorated rapidly. A few hours later, the family called an ambulance again. According to the deceased's mother, the ambulance doctors called the hospital to have the resuscitation unit prepared. However, when the pregnant woman was brought to the hospital, the resuscitation department was not ready.
On 23 December, the family lost a wife, mother, daughter, and unborn child. The preliminary cause of death is pulmonary embolism and severe ARVI.
The story of Ainash Ustazhanova's death indeed raises many questions.
For example, why, knowing about the pathology and potential risks of such a difficult pregnancy, did the doctors at the Kokshetau city hospital not admit the patient? Why was Ainash not sent to the CID in time, forced to wait for hours for test results, and then shuttled from one facility to another? Why did the maternity hospital refuse emergency admission, even ignoring the bleeding?
The head of the Akmola Region Health Department, Nurlan Akhilbekov, acknowledged his colleagues' guilt in failing to provide care. An internal investigation is being conducted by specialists from the pharmaceutical control committee, and a forensic medical examination has been ordered. A criminal case has been opened regarding the death of the pregnant woman. The deceased's mother sent a letter to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the hope that the head of state would take the case "under his personal control."
Ainash's family considered his personal intervention critically necessary to ensure this terrible situation did not remain just a faceless line in medical statistics. After all, if such things can happen at the level of a regional centre, then smaller towns and remote villages are even worse off. Why qualified inspections of medical facilities across the country are only carried out after tragic incidents remains, rather, a rhetorical question.
The death of Ainash Ustazhanova is far from the first example of negligence and indifference among medical workers.
Previously, we reported on a boy with a severe form of cancer who was transported from Aktau to Astana. He became unwell at the capital's airport. An ambulance was called. But the emergency medics provided the child with no assistance whatsoever. The boy, in a serious condition, was simply taken from the airport to the hospital – and, according to his mother, for 30,000 tenge. In other words, they 'taxi'd' him, profiting from a dying person. And who did this? Ambulance workers.
In the summer of 2023, a pregnant woman died at the multidisciplinary hospital in Zhanaozen. An ambulance brought Bibi Kuanova to the hospital, but the necessary care could not be provided there. The deceased's mother reported that the hospital lift was not working and the gasping woman was never connected to an oxygen machine. Bibi left behind three young daughters.