Medical Council Seeks Doctors' Names after Pregnant Woman's Death at Pune Hospital

The move follows preliminary findings by a five-member inquiry committee, which indicated that the hospital should have admitted the patient and initiated treatment. Though the hospital pointed out that there can be no case of medical negligence considering that the deceased was not their patient, the committee pointed out that refusing her admission is not something to overlook, reports the Times of India. Hence, under “the Maharashtra Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1949, or the Bombay Nursing Homes Registration Act, 1949, action can be taken against the hospital if the patient's relatives file an FIR. The health department cannot take any suo motu action."

Medical Dialogues recently reported that a seven-month pregnant woman carrying twins died after allegedly being denied admission at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune due to non-payment of an advance of Rs 10 lakh. In response to the incident, the state health department has formed a five-member panel to investigate the matter.

The committee, constituted by the state health department, visited all three hospitals where the woman was taken by her family before and after delivery. After reviewing the circumstances surrounding her death, the committee concluded that Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital failed to fulfill its responsibility by not admitting the patient when she sought care.

According to the Daily, MMC administrator Dr Rughwani Vinki Mohanlal said, "We have issued a letter to the superintendent of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital seeking information on all the doctors who attended to the patient or have been involved in this case in any way. Once we get the names, we will issue a notice to all of them seeking an explanation on the entire incident. The doctors would be sought an explanation on whether the ethics of code and conduct were followed or not, and if there was any medical negligence. Once we receive a response from the hospital, we will conduct the inquiry."

Headed by the deputy director of health services, the committee has submitted its initial report to the state government. A comprehensive and final report is expected to follow after further investigation. In response to the mounting scrutiny, the hospital released a public statement on Saturday announcing a significant policy change. It declared that no advance payment will be required for patients seeking emergency services, including those arriving at the emergency room, delivery ward, or pediatric care unit. The hospital's board of trustees passed a resolution to this effect in a meeting held recently, signaling a shift aimed at addressing public concerns and ensuring timely care.

The health hub's statement mentioned, "When the hospital was started in 2001, no deposit was taken from any patients. As the number of complex patients increased, the deposit system was started in case an expensive treatment was required. Yesterday's (Friday's) disturbing incident made us review this issue. The trustees and the management have decided that no patient coming to the emergency, maternity, or pediatric departments would be asked for any advance or deposit at the time of admission. Its implementation started on Saturday."

Commenting on the issue, Dr Dhanajay Kelkar, the medical director of the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, said he has no idea about the MMC letter to the facility. He said, "It is wrong to link the hospital with the unfortunate incident and the death. However, we are investigating if the hospital showed any insensitivity towards the patient. Even though I personally called the woman's relatives and told them to pay as much as they could, they left without informing anyone."