Death of newborn: CM Kejriwal asks for action plan on critical care facilities at hospitals

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal (Files)

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has directed Health Minister Satyendar Jain to submit an action plan within a week on providing “life support systems for critical patients” in government hospitals. The order comes in the wake of a newborn child’s death last week, who was denied admission at four government hospitals due to unavailability of critical care beds with ventilator facilities.

The directions were issued after it was brought to the notice of the Delhi High Court that the child had died in Jagpravesh Government Hospital within 15 hours of being born, as the family could not find a bed fitted with a ventilator.

Kejriwal also directed the health minister to ensure that live data of functional critical care facilities at hospitals be made available to patients seeking treatment. He also asked Jain to include in the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that a hospital where a critical patient is first brought for admission, will ensure that the patient gets “immediate life saving care”.

“The health minister has been asked to place the action plan before the CM by the month-end to ensure that critical patients requiring life support do not have to run around from hospital to hospital,” a senior government official said.

“The CM has further directed that from now, when a patient in a critical condition is brought in and the hospital lacks life-saving facilities or non-availability of beds, then it will be the duty of that hospital to find out which other hospital has such a facility… It should be part of the SOP that the patient is sent to that hospital without any delay,” a statement from the CM’s office said.

The baby, born on September 20, was diagnosed with birth asphyxia and needed immediate ventilator support. The HC issued notices to the Centre, Health Ministry, Delhi government and the three civic bodies, and suggested that details of medical facilities available at hospitals be made available online to ensure better medical help.