Woman not denied admission, kin shifted her after told to deposit money: Hospital

Pune: Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital on Friday said the deceased pregnant woman (37) was not denied admission to the facility and her relatives shifted her to another health hub after they were told to deposit money for her treatment.
The hospital in a statement said the woman, who died after delivering twins on March 31 in another health facility, was aware that she was a high-risk patient. "She had a history of ovarian cancer and was advised to avoid pregnancy earlier. The patient underwent IVF to get pregnant despite this recommendation and conceived twins," a doctor of the hospital said on the condition of anonymity.
Spokesperson at Indira IVF, where the woman underwent IVF, said, "The patient came to us approximately a year ago seeking infertility treatment. She had a history of both ovaries being removed because of ovarian cysts in 2022. She did not report undergoing chemotherapy or any additional treatment for ovarian issues. During her routine tests at Indira IVF, no further complications were identified, and her treatment was successful."
Political parties on Friday staged protests outside Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital after Tanisha alias Ishwari Sushant Bhise's family members alleged that they were told to shift her to another facility for failing to pay Rs10 lakh in advance.
Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in its statement said, "The woman had earlier undergone surgery for ovarian cancer under the charity commission's scheme with 50% fee waiver in our hospital. Her kin had refused to pay the remaining bill then. Owing to their previous encounter with the hospital regarding the bill, her kin were told to pay a deposit prior to admission as the twins would require a long-term hospitalisation. But her relatives refused to pay any advance and left without seeking any treatment."
The hospital said, "Every pregnant woman must undergo ante-natal check-ups at least thrice during the course of pregnancy to ensure a safe delivery. This woman was not registered for this in our hospital. She visited Dr Sushrut Ghaisas on March 15. The doctor told the patient to come back for a follow-up on March 22 as hers was a risky case. The woman visited Dr Ghaisas' OPD around 11.30am on March 28 with her husband and relatives."
The statement said, "When Bhise came to the hospital, she was stable. Given her previous medical history, her relatives were informed that she needs to be admitted for observation. They were told that the estimated expenditure would go up to Rs10-20 lakh. Her relatives assured us that they would arrange for the funds and requested the hospital to admit her. The patient's kin then reached out to Dr Dhananjay Kelkar, the medical director of Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, over phone and said they would be able to arrange only Rs2-2.5 lakh. Kelkar told them to deposit whatever they can and admit the patient."
The hospital stated that none of the relatives of the woman reached out to the charity commission department or the hospital's administration physically. "Her relatives then took her out of the hospital without informing Dr Kelkar. After understanding that the patient was hesitating to get admitted because of financial reasons, Dr Ghaisas suggested her relatives take her to Sassoon General Hospital. The nurses in the hospital saw her relatives leaving the hospital. Dr Ghaisas then called the patient's husband to check their status, but he did not respond. We are not aware of any future developments after the afternoon of March 28," read the statement.
Kids stable
Dr Sachin Shah, the director of neonatal and pediatric intensive care services at Surya Hospital, where the woman gave birth to the twins, said, "She delivered two girl children — one weighing 1,100 grams and another 600 grams. Both are now on the NICU ventilator and in the C-Pap machine. They are stable and have started consuming milk in a small volume. As the woman's condition started deteriorating after the delivery, she was transferred to another hospital."