Amid growing anger surrounding recent deaths in government hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court has taken action. The court, led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor, has initiated suo motu proceedings and demanded information from the state government.
According to reports, Advocate General Birendra Saraf, representing the state, was directed by the court to provide details regarding the state's healthcare budget on October 5. This move followed a letter submitted by advocate Mohit Khanna, who had originally been asked to file a formal petition. Khanna was also tasked with compiling data on hospital staff vacancies, medicine availability, and the government's healthcare funding.
However, during the afternoon session, the court decided to take suo motu cognizance, deeming the explanations offered by hospital doctors regarding bed shortages, staff, and essential medicines unacceptable. The High Court has set a hearing for Thursday to address the matter further.
According to Khanna's letter, 31 deaths, including infants, were reported at Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded in just 48 hours starting September 30. Additionally, between October 2 and 3, 18 patients, including infants, lost their lives at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Unfortunately, the death toll in Nanded Hospital has now risen to 47.
The situation is not limited to these two hospitals; reports also emerged of deaths in government hospitals in Nagpur. Within the past 24 hours, two government hospitals in Nagpur recorded 14 and 9 patient deaths, respectively. These tragic incidents have intensified criticism of the state government for alleged shortages of medicine and medical staff in hospitals throughout the state.