Sassoon hospital panel to probe pregnant woman's death

Pune: A six-member expert panel of Sassoon General Hospital and BJ Medical College has been constituted to investigate the death of a young mother who was allegedly denied admission at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune on March 28 due to the non-payment of a Rs 10 lakh advance deposit, after the city police approached the institution for assistance.  

This marks the fourth committee set up to investigate the incident, following three previous committees that have already submitted their reports—the most recent being the third report from the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Maternal Death Review Panel.

The Sassoon Hospital panel comprises the medical superintendent of SGH along with the heads of departments from medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, forensic medicine, and others. The committee is expected to begin its investigation today.

Also read- Maharashtra Medical Council Issues Notice to Gynaecologist over Pregnant woman's death

The panel was constituted on April 11 after the police approached the hospital on April 9, seeking an expert medical opinion in the case and requesting the formation of a dedicated committee.

Even though Sassoon Hospital tried to pass the investigation to the Pune Health Department, since other committees were already looking into the case, the request was denied, so the hospital formed its own committee to carry out the investigation.

Dr Ekanth Pawar, dean of BJMC and SGH, told HT, “We had requested the public health department to conduct the probe as the committee was already formed by them to investigate the case. Besides, they can investigate other issues asked by the police and submit the report at their level. However, they have now requested us to investigate and submit the report.”

This comes after the family members of the deceased filed a complaint at the police station against Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital. However, without proper medical knowledge and confirmation, the police could not move forward with the case.

Medical Dialogues had previously 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. The 30-year-old woman was reportedly facing severe pregnancy-related complications when she was rushed to the hospital, but was turned away for treatment.

The woman's husband alleged that the hospital demanded a sum of Rs 10 lakh for treatment, even as he expressed his willingness to pay Rs 2.5 lakh upfront. He alleged that the hospital's refusal to admit her or provide immediate medical care caused significant delays. As her condition deteriorated, the situation became increasingly critical. Left with no choice, the family rushed her to another hospital, but tragically, she passed away shortly after giving birth to her twin daughters. 

The husband, who serves as a private secretary to Maharashtra Legislative Council member Amit Gorkhe, accused the hospital of prioritizing money over the life of his wife.

Police Inspector Sunita Rokade said, “We have referred the case to Sassoon General Hospital as per the 2014 government resolution (GR), which states all alleged medical negligence cases should be probed by a panel of medical experts. We have asked the Sassoon General Hospital authorities to probe the matter. Once we receive their report, we will lodge an FIR against the accused.”

Meanwhile, an official from Sassoon General Hospital said, “We asked the Public Health Department to conduct the inquiry as they are already investigating the case. However, the department requested us instead to probe the matter.”

Three other committee reports

In a latest development, three committees investigating various aspects of the case have submitted their reports. One of them, a panel headed by Dr. Radhakishan Pawar and formed on the directives of the health minister, pointed out that Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital (DMH) violated multiple regulations, including those under the Maharashtra Nursing Homes Registration Rule, the Indian Medical Council Regulations, 2002, and norms applicable to charitable hospitals. 

Separately, a five-member committee led by the joint charity commissioner submitted its findings to the Department of Law and Judiciary, highlighting that DMH had Rs 35.48 crore lying unused in its Indigent Patients Fund as of March 31. However, the committee did not share additional information regarding the fund’s management, reports Pune Times Mirror.

Meanwhile, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) also submitted its maternal death review report to the State Health Department. According to the findings, the pregnant woman's death was caused by hypoxic encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

A PMC official stated that the committee had reviewed her medical background, IVF treatment, and pregnancy-related care before reaching this conclusion. However, PMC’s Dr. Rajesh Dighe clarified that "This is not the special committee constituted to probe the death of Tanisha Bhise. We review deaths of all mothers during or pregnancy and submit the report to the government. Based on analysis of death, actions are taken to avoid further deaths due to the same cause to reduce the mortality of mothers.”

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