Odisha: Newborn dies of medical negligence, HRC directs district Collector to seal Nursing Home

Bhubaneswar: In a significant interim order the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has ordered the Puri District Collector to seal the Sibananda Nursing Home at hospital square forthwith after shifting the patients to other places where better treatment is available. 

While Adjudicating a petition filed by one Prasanna Kumar Das, advocate and rights activist, the Commission observed that there is a prima facie that the hospital authority of Shivananda Nursing Home is responsible for the death of a newborn baby and passed the order on May 23 last.

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The activist in his application alleged that the baby died in the nursing home due to medical negligence.

The Commission in his order also asked the Puri district Collector to pay a compensation of Rs two lakh to the father of the baby Abhijit Mohapatra after recovering the amount from the Nursing home proprietor Sagar Ranjan Srichandan.

The commission fixed the next date of hearing on June 9 next.

An inquiry was conducted following the allegation made by the advocate activist.

The inquiry observed that the nursing home was not clean, provision for sunlight and ventilation were not where the patients were staying, no biomedical waste management, and no duty medical officer was there to look after the postoperative patients.

The registration of the nursing home expired on March 31, 2017.

Although the Nursing home has applied for renewal it has not been renewed as of October 8, 2017, when the patient was admitted and the delivery was done.

The hospital has been operating for more than five years without a registration number.

Stating that the observation made in the report is very shocking, the Commission said with such defects the nursing home should not be allowed to function without any registration and appropriate steps be taken by the competent authority to seal the Nursing home.

The Commission is of the view that the nursing home having no registration and adequate facilities has admitted patients, conducted delivery and the care of newborn baby could not be taken as there is no paediatric specialist available in the nursing home.

The commission observed that the hospital authority is liable to pay compensation on account of the death of the newborn baby.

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