Insensitive of Pune hospital to deny admission to woman, says Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis; forms inquiry panel

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a committee to inquire into the death of a pregnant woman after she was allegedly refused admission by Punes leading Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over nonpayment of a deposit of Rs 10 lakh reported news agency PTIThe controversy escalated on Friday with local political activists staging a protest outside the Pune hospital and the hospital claiming that the womans relatives were making misleading allegationsA day earlier BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe claimed in a video message that Tanisha Bhise the wife of his personal assistant was refused admission by the Pune hospital She was taken to another hospital where she died after delivering twins he saidA statement from the Chief Ministers Office said on Friday that he had taken serious note of the incident He has ordered the formation of an inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Joint Commissioner of Charity Pune it said reported PTIIt said that the deputy secretary or undersecretary of the Law and Justice department would be the member secretary of the committeeFurther instructions have been issued to the principal secretary the Law and Justice department and the charity commissioner to ensure that the Charity Patient Scheme prepared as per the directions of the High Court is effectively implemented by all charity hospitals the CMO saidAll charitable hospitals should seek approval from the Charity Hospital Help Desk through the online system to make reserved beds available to patients from the poor and vulnerable groups it said reported PTIThe government has approved 186 posts of charitable health workers in charitable hospitals and they should be filled immediately the CMO statement saidTalking to reporters here Fadnavis said it was insensitive on the part of the Pune hospital to deny admission to a pregnant womanHe conceded that there was a lot of anger among the people over the incidentMedical ethics are needed The Chief Ministers medical cell also intervened but the hospital did not budge Fadnavis said reported PTIAn internal inquiry report of the Mangeshkar Hospital claimed that the allegations of denial of admission for nonpayment of Rs 10 lakh were misleading and made out of frustration by her familyThe womans pregnancy was in the highrisk category and her two underweight fetuses of seven months coupled with a history of an old ailment required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit NICU treatment for at least two months it saidThe treatment required Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and the family was advised that in case of lack of funds they could admit the patient to the governmentrun Sassoon General Hospital for a complicated surgery it addedBJP MLC Chitra Wagh meanwhile came under criticism for a social media post praising the partys womens wing members who targeted and vandalised a private clinic in Punes Kothrud area belonging to Dr Shusrut Ghaisas who works at the hospital reported PTIDr Nilima Ghaisas his mother said her son did not practice thereActivist Vishwambhar Choudhari criticised Waghs remarks and claimed that the BJPled state government recently allotted land to the hospital for Rs 1 per year rentThe deceased womans husband was the personal assistant of a BJP Member of the Legislative Council yet he could not do anything Chaudhari saidWith inputs from PTI