Internal panel report states the premature infant was kept under observation for two hours
An internal committee of the Safdarjung Hospital gave a clean chit to its doctors and medical staffers accused of medical negligence, two days after a newborn was declared dead at the hospital but was found to be alive by the family just minutes before his funeral.
The committee report stated, "As per the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) laws of the government of India, a 20-week foetus is legally not viable. So, there was no case of medical negligence or any lapse on the part of the hospital."
Dr AK Rai, Medical Superintendent of the Safdarjung Hospital, said, "All these reports of negligence by the people are an attempt to malign the reputation of government hospitals."
Early on Sunday morning, Badarpur resident Shanta Devi and her husband Rohit, 28, had come to the hospital after she started having labour pains. The parents were told that their 410 g foetus did not respond and has been declared dead. Rohit then returned home to make arrangements for the infant's burial when he and some other relatives noticed that the baby was moving. He was rushed back to hospital.
"Had it been a few minutes late, I would have already buried him alive," Rohit said, while filing a complaint against the hospital. In response to the plaint, the hospital formed an inquiry committee, which included Heads of Gynaecology and Paediatrics Departments.
While the report stated that the infant was kept under observation for 2 hours, Rohit said he was handed over the child just 15 minutes after the delivery, i.e. 6 am.
PAST IMPERFECT
- Earlier this month, the hospital was accused of exchanging a baby boy with a girl. The complainant had also alleged that the doctors fitted her with an intrauterine device (IUD) to prevent more pregnancies without taking her consent
- In January, a woman had approached the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), stating that she had delivered twins but was handed over only one child. The DCW had then issued notices to the hospital
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