Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday ordered the formation of a committee to inquire into the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly refused admission by Pune’s leading Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over non-payment of a deposit of Rs 10 lakh. The controversy escalated during the day with local political activists staging a protest outside the hospital and the hospital claiming that the woman’s relatives were making misleading allegations. A day earlier, BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe claimed in a video message that Tanisha Bhise, the wife of his personal assistant, was refused admission by the hospital. She was taken to another hospital where she died after delivering twins, he said.
A statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said on Friday that he had taken a serious note of the incident. “He has ordered the formation of an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Charity, Pune,” it said.
Also Read | Pune: BJP MLC’s PA’s Pregnant Wife Dies After Hospital Allegedly Refuses Admission Over Rs 10 Lakh Deposit.
The deputy secretary or under secretary of the Law and Justice department will be the member secretary of the committee, it added. Further, instructions have been issued to the principal secretary, Law and Justice department and the charity commissioner to ensure that the Charity Patient Scheme prepared as per the directions of the High Court is effectively implemented by all charity hospitals, the CMO said.
“All charitable hospitals should seek approval from the ‘Charity Hospital Help Desk’ through the online system to make reserved beds available to patients from the poor and vulnerable groups,” it said. The government has approved 186 posts of charitable health workers in charitable hospitals and they should be filled up immediately, the CMO statement said.
Talking to reporters here, Fadnavis said it was “insensitive” on the part of the hospital to deny admission to a pregnant woman.
There was a lot of anger among the people over the incident, he conceded.
“Medical ethics are needed. The Chief Minister’s medical cell also intervened, but the hospital did not budge,” Fadnavis said.
An internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital claimed that the allegations of denial of admission for non-payment of Rs 10 lakh were “misleading”, and made “out of frustration” by her family.
The woman’s pregnancy was in the high-risk category, and her two underweight fetuses of seven months, coupled with a history of old ailment, required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) treatment for at least two months, it said. The treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds, they could admit the patient to the government-run Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery, it added.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, meanwhile, came under criticism for a social media post praising the party’s women’s wing members who targeted a private clinic in Pune’s Kothrud area belonging to Dr Shusrut Ghaisas, who works at the hospital, and vandalised it.