Mumbai: Noting that there was a lack of basic facilities at a maternity home in Bhandup where a woman and her newborn died due to the alleged negligence on part of the hospital authorities, the Bombay High Court has issued notice to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The court issued the notice while hearing a petition by the woman’s husband who alleged medical negligence in the deaths of his wife and newborn child. The plea stated that the delivery had taken place at Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home at Bhandup West using flashlights of mobile phones due to a power failure.
The court remarked that every civic hospital should have basic facilities. “What are the conditions in civic hospitals? We think the basic facilities need to be there in each hospital and the same are mandatory. We issue notice to the corporation,” a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Shyam Chandak observed.
The plea by Khusruddin Ansari, 34, said that on April 29, his wife Shaheedunissa went into labour and was taken to the maternity home around 8.20am. However, she was taken into the operation theatre at 10.30pm. There was a power failure. Since the morning, there were five to six such instances. There were no inverters, generators, among other things. Ansari was called in the OT and told that a baby was delivered but hadn’t cried. After 10 minutes, the baby was declared dead. Shaheedunissa was transferred to Sion Hospital where she was declared dead at 1.30am.
The petitioner’s advocates Gayatri Singh and Swaraj Jadhav submitted that the woman was operated on with help of a mobile torch as there was no electricity at the hospital, in April 2024.
Singh submitted that both the hospitals did not furnish the medical records of the deceased. The family ran from pillar to post to get the case papers. When they were not given the papers, they approached the HC.
The bench remarked that the Indian Medical Council (IMC) guidelines mandate the hospitals to furnish medical documents within 72 hours of the patient or their family or a legal authority, asking for the same. It added that if a hospital fails to adhere to the guidelines, they are liable to disciplinary enquiry.
The bench asked what action would the IMC initiate in the case and hence decided to add IMC as respondent to the petition.
The court has asked the zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) to supervise the probe initiated by the Bhandup Police in the alleged medical negligence case. The court has also asked the JJ Hospital, which initiated a parallel probe, to submit its report. The HC has kept the matter for hearing after two weeks.
