Taking suo motu cognizance of the death of a newborn for want of a ventilator in Hisar, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Haryana Chief Secretary, seeking a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
The Commission said a newborn died as he could not receive ventilator support for nearly 24 hours in hospitals in Hisar and Rohtak. Reportedly, the father of the newborn struggled to obtain ventilator support for his child, moving from one hospital to another in Hisar and Rohtak districts but failing to do so, resulting in the infant’s death, the NHRC stated in its report.
The Commission observed that the contents of the news reports, if true, raise serious issues of violation of human rights. Therefore, it issued notices to the Chief Secretary, Government of Haryana, seeking a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
According to a media report dated July 3, the infant was born via caesarean section at the Civil Hospital in Hisar on July 1, 2026, and required immediate ventilator support. While the mother remained admitted to the Civil Hospital, doctors initially referred the newborn to the Medical College at Agroha in Hisar district.
However, after the Civil Hospital reportedly confirmed that no ventilator was available even at Agroha, the baby was referred to PGIMS, Rohtak. Unable to obtain a ventilator at PGIMS as well, the child was brought back to Hisar and taken to a private hospital, where he was declared dead.
Notably, the matter was also referred to the district medical negligence board, which has initiated an inquiry. Sources said there was a communication gap in verifying ventilator availability, which resulted in the infant’s death.
Health department sources said that a ventilator was available at the Civil Hospital in Rohtak at the time the child was admitted to PGIMS Rohtak without ventilator support. They also said that the availability of a ventilator was not checked in civil hospitals in the adjoining districts of Fatehabad, Sirsa, and Jind when the newborn was referred to PGIMS Rohtak.
