Delhi: Police file case against private hospital for declaring newborn dead when he was alive
The baby’s relatives protested outside Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh on Friday night demanding an investigation.
The Delhi Police on Friday registered a case of attempt to commit culpable homicide against the private hospital that reportedly declared a newborn dead when he was found alive later, The Indian Express reported.
The baby and his twin sister were born at Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh on Thursday morning. Their mother had been brought to the hospital from a nursing home in Paschim Vihar. “The doctors had told the family that she was serious and the chances of survival of the twins were slim, as she was six months pregnant,” the police said.
After she gave birth to a boy and a girl, the family was informed that their twins were stillborn. The family has alleged that the babies were handed to them in a plastic bag. When the parents were on their way to a crematorium to perform their last rites, they found that the boy was still alive. The surviving twin is being treated at a nursing home in Pitampura.
“We are sending papers to the Delhi Medical Council and Medical Council of India, and registering a case under Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Aslam Khan said.
The children’s relatives protested outside the hospital on Friday night, demanding an investigation into the incident.
#Delhi: Relatives of two-newborn twins who were declared dead by Max Hospital yesterday sat in protest outside the hospital last night, say they will sit there until an action is taken against the hospital administration. One baby was later found to be alive by the family. pic.twitter.com/Nz2AqvfZDJ
— ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017
The Delhi Medical Council, the body that investigates cases of medical negligence in the Capital, has also taken up the case and said that it would conduct an independent investigation.
After the parents alleged medical negligence, Union Health Minister JP Nadda asked the Delhi government to look into the matter and take necessary action. In an order, the Aam Aadmi Party-led government in the national Capital ordered an inquiry and said a preliminary report should be submitted within 72 hours and a final report within a week.
In a statement, Max hospital had said that it was “shaken and concerned at this rare incident”.
“It has been brought to our attention that a premature, newborn baby who is reported to be on life support at a nursing home was unfortunately handed over [to the parents] without any sign of life by Max Hospital Shalimar Bagh,” it said. The hospital also said that the doctor involved had been sent on leave.