A one-week-old baby boy, who was wrongly declared dead along with a twin sister after being born at Max Hospital in New Delhi before being found to be alive, died on Wednesday at a nursing home.
A statement released by Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh said, "We just learnt of the sad demise of the 23-week preterm baby, who was on ventilator support. Our deepest condolences are with the parents and other family members." It added, “while we understand that survival in extreme preterm births is rare, it is always painful for the parents and the family."
The twins' mother, Varsha (20) was admitted to a nursing home in Nangloi on November 28 when she complained of stomach pain. She was later shifted to Max Hospital as her condition was critical. The twins were born on the morning of November 30. His twin sister was still-born, according to the hospital.
The hospital handed the family the baby in a polythene bag and told them that it was already dead.
The baby, however, showed signs of life while being taken to the cremation ground. He was then admitted to a nursing home in Pitampura. His father Ashish told the media that he developed infections 'due to being exposed to the environment.'
The family said they were told that the surviving baby would have to be kept in the nursery for three months. “As we realised it would cost us an exorbitant amount of money—Rs 50,000 each for the next three months—we decided to shift the baby to a smaller hospital,'' said a relative.
Max Hospital was found guilty of not having followed prescribed medical norms in dealing with newborn infants by a three-member panel appointed by Satyendra Jain, minister of health, home, power, PWD, industries and urban development, on Tuesday.
The hospital terminated two doctors who were involved in declaring the child dead. A medical negligence case was registered under Section 308 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the hospital, following a complaint by the family. The hospital allegedly did not measure the child's ECG before declaring it dead.
In a tweet, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that strong action would be taken against Max Hospital if charges were proved.
(With inputs from Mini P. Thomas)
