A newborn suffering from respiratory distress died after allegedly failing to receive ventilator support for nearly 24 hours, with the family claiming they were forced to shuttle between three hospitals in search of critical care.
The infant was born through a caesarean section at the Civil Hospital in Hisar on Wednesday and required immediate ventilator support, according to the family. While the baby’s mother, Pooja, remained admitted at the Civil Hospital, doctors initially referred the newborn to the Medical College at Agroha.
However, after the Civil Hospital reportedly confirmed that no ventilator was available at Agroha, the baby was referred to the PGIMS in Rohtak.
Rakesh Kumar, 35, a daily-wage labourer from Uttar Pradesh residing in Mahavir Colony, Hisar, said they took the newborn to Rohtak on Wednesday evening but were unable to secure ventilator support there as well.
The family then returned to Hisar and took the infant to a private hospital around noon on Thursday, where doctors declared the baby dead.
Workers’ union leader Manoj Soni said the incident exposed the alleged negligence of the Haryana Health Department. He added that the child’s father had submitted complaints to the Civil Surgeon in Hisar seeking an inquiry and to the Anaj Mandi police post for appropriate action.
Principal Medical Officer Dr Reena Jain said the newborn was suffering from respiratory problems and also required echocardiography.
“They had only one ventilator in the NICU ward which was already occupied so they referred the child to the tertiary centre – Medical College Agroha. But when we inquired about the ventilator at Agroha and found that there was no ventilator available there, we referred the child to the PGIMS at Rohtak. But no ventilator was also available at the PGIMS Rohtak as well since all the ventilators were already occupied there too,” she said.
She added that the family later brought the child back to Hisar for admission to a private hospital, where the infant died.
The PMO said statements of hospital staff and family members would be recorded before a detailed report is submitted to higher authorities in Chandigarh for further action.
She further said the Civil Hospital had already sought an additional ventilator for its NICU, but the request was yet to be fulfilled.
Civil Surgeon Dr Sapna Ganhot said the complaint filed by the deceased child’s father had been referred to the medical negligence board for inquiry.
