Medical service provider Max Healthcare, whose hospital in Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh locality lost its licence on Friday after it had wrongly declared a baby dead, has said that the Delhi government’s ruling was harsh and that the hospital administration was not given an adequate opportunity to be heard.
“We believe that even if there is an individual error of judgment, holding the hospital responsible is unfair and will severely limit the ability for patients to access treatment,” the company said in a statement. “This will compound the shortage of hospital facilities in the National Capital.”
Fortis Healthcare, whose hospital in Gurugram has been accused of gross negligence in the case of a seven-year-old girl who later died of dengue, also tweeted its message of support for Max Healthcare.
While announcing the government’s decision on Friday, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the hospital was a habitual offender and that its negligence was unacceptable. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also said that though the government did not want to interfere in the functioning of private hospital, “open loot or criminal negligence by any hospital won’t be tolerated”.
A baby and his twin sister who were prematurely born at the Shalimar Bagh hospital on November 30 were declared stillborn.
When the parents were on their way to a crematorium to perform the last rites, they found that the boy was still alive, and rushed him to another hospital. However, the baby died later at a private nursing home. The parents also alleged that Max Hospital had handed the babies to them in a plastic bag.
A panel set up by the Delhi government found that the hospital did not conduct an electrocardiography test to check whether the babies were alive.
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