Posted On Monday, August 20, 2012 at 08:41:11 AM
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| Sachin phulsundar |
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| Apex Hospital in Kalewadi, where the baby was born |
A prematurely-born baby girl dies three days later due to what could be shocking neglect by the hospital and her parents. A social worker from Childline, who visited the Apex Hospital in Kalewadi on the night of August 16 after receiving an anonymous tip-off, found the baby that was born on August 14, abandoned in a corner of the Operation Theatre without treatment or even oxygen.
She died the next day after being shifted to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH). Executive director of Childline Anuradha Sahastrabuddhe said, “On August 16, we got the call telling us the condition of the baby. We then got an order from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and visited the hospital. We found the baby in a tray with a lone electric bulb on in the OT.
When our team members asked the doctors about the baby, they told them that the baby was extremely premature, her parents did not want to treat her and it was impossible for them to treat the child.” The team then decided to shift the baby to YCMH. The doctors from Apex also accompanied the team.
However, it was too late. Within the next few hours, the baby stopped responding to treatment and finally succumbed in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of YCMH. Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the team members who visited the spot, said, “The baby was alive, but totally neglected.
Even the doors of the theatre in which she was kept were not closed. Only when we insisted on it, did the doctor ask that she be given oxygen.” Dr Gopal Ghare of Apex Hospital said, “This baby was one of a pair of twins born to a 31-year-old mother who was being treated for infertility at our hospital.
She was just 26 weeks into her pregnancy. The first baby was born dead, this was the second one.” Dr Ghare continued, “As per medical terminology, this baby was a nonviable foetus – one that, although born alive, cannot survive.
We gave the parents all the information – that we didn’t have NICU facilities, so they should shift the baby elsewhere. But they refused and told us to do whatever we could. They could not afford to keep the baby in an incubator for the requisite 14 weeks. We provided whatever treatment was available to us.
We have not committed any social crime.” Ghare also said that that baby weighed only 738 gms, when she was taken to YCMH. The Childline team who visited the hospital were told it weighed 900 gm just after birth.
Dr Meenakshi Patil of YCMH said, “The baby arrived at our hospital 48 hours after birth. Her weight was extremely low. Even if she was brought here on time, chances of her survival were very low.”
 ► We found the baby in a tray with one electric bulb on in the OT. Doctors said it was impossible for them to treat her
- Anuradha Sahastrabuddhe, Executive Director, Childline
► We told the parents that we didn’t have NICU facilities, so they should shift the baby elsewhere. But they refused
- Dr Gopal Ghare Apex Hospital
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05:20:12 PM