A petition was filed in the Bombay High Court when a pregnant woman and her newborn lost their lives due to the alleged negligence on part of BMC run Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home in Bhandup.
The High Court, on 14th August, directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to answer about the state of the government- run hospitals after a woman and her newborn infant died under the care of doctors at a maternity hospital in a suburban locality in Mumbai.
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Caesarean Section performed under phone flashlights
On 29th April, 2024, 26-year-old Shaheedunissa Ansari went into labor and was brought to the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home around 8:20 am. However, it was not until 1:30 pm that she was taken into a labor ward where she remained for several hours. During the early evening hours, Shaheedunissa’s mother-in-law found her to be in excruciating pain and requested the doctors to perform a C-Section on her. However, the family was repeatedly assured that the expectant would be able to undergo a normal delivery.
However, by 9 pm, Shaheedunissa had bled “profusely” due to an episiotomy performed without the family’s knowledge, said the mother-in law. Sahrukh Ansari, Shaheedunissa’s brother-in-law, said that once the fetus’ heart rate dropped to 40 BPM, the hospital stated the need for an emergency Caesarean Section to save the lives of the mother and the child.
She was required to walk all the way to the operating theatre due to the lack of basic working facilities like elevator, stretchers or wheelchair. It was around this time that the hospital suffered a power outage. Despite the lack of proper lighting and other necessary facilities at the hospital, the patient underwent the operation. The petitioner- Khasruddin Ansari and his family have complained that Shaheedunissa was operated on under handheld mobile torches and that the delivery resulted in a stillborn child.
Shortly after, the patient was transferred to Sion Hospital, where she died within a few hours. The family of the deceased have claimed that Shaheedusnissa had experienced a healthy pregnancy and that it was the negligence of the medical team at the hospital that caused her demise.
Follow-up Enquiry and Action
Swaraj Jadhav and Gayatri Singh- the advocates of the plaintiff have informed the High Court that their clients had been requesting the hospital for the medical reports since the month of April. The reports were produced before the court yesterday, which violated Medical Council of India’s (MCI) guideline stating that the medical reports must be handed over within 72 hours of being asked for by a patient, their family or official authorities.
JJ Hospital, another civic body, had been assigned with the task of enquiring into the matter regarding the alleged lapse on part of the doctors. The police, on Wednesday, told the HC that the FIR had still not been filed as the enquiry report from JJ Hospital was due.
Noting certain oversights by the police , the HC Bench which includes Justices Prithviraj Chavan and Revati Mohite-Dere , directed the Deputy Zonal Commissioner of police to supervise the investigation and declared the next hearing to be set on 28th August.
