Jalandhar, Punjab:
Parents of a five-day-old baby who died in the Jalandhar Civil Hospital allege that the baby died because the hospital removed her from the incubator. This, they allege, happened because they couldn't pay Rs. 200 advance that the hospital was asking for.
As per the couple, the baby was born premature and put in the incubator already. "My wife Anita gave birth to a girl child in civil hospital on July 21. The child was diagnosed with jaundice and later shifted to emergency ward on life support system," said the baby's father Sanjeev Kumar, a daily wage worker.
A senior doctor then told them the baby would need to be kept in it for another day. After that, they were told about depositing the money. "We were told that the electricity bill for a day for ventilator comes out to be Rs. 25 and I will have to pay Rs. 200 as advance. I told them I do not have that much money and requested them to place the baby on ventilator but they did not do it," says the baby's father Sanjeev Kumar, a daily wage worker.
The hospital in its defence says the baby was born premature and had very little chances of survival. The Senior Medical Officer in charge of the hospital has asked the couple to lodge an official complaint about this negligence and has promised to look into the matter.
The Medical Superintendent Iqbal Singh said he was not aware of the incident as he was out of station. He said he would look into the case and tough action would be taken against the guilty.
Even Punjab's Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal has promised an enquiry within two weeks. "I am shocked by this. I have asked senior officials to investigate the matter and action will be taken against those who are responsible," he said.
But for a couple that's dealing with the death of a new born child, these assurances possibly offer very little comfort.
(Written by Janaki Fernandes with PTI inputs)