Baby wrongly declared dead by Max Hospital passes away

New Delhi: A premature baby, who was delivered in Max Hospital and wrongly declared dead last week, has died during treatment, police said today.

The baby, born on November 30, died last evening. “We just learnt of the sad demise of the 23-week preterm baby, who was on ventilator support,” Max Healthcare authorities said in a statement.

“Our deepest condolences are with the parents and other family members. While we understand that survival in extreme preterm births is rare, it is always painful for the parents and family. We wish them the strength to cope with their loss,” it said.

Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), also confirmed the news.

A panel formed by the Delhi government to look into the case yesterday found Max Hospital guilty of not following prescribed medical norms in dealing with newborn infants.

The case relates to the birth of twins (a boy and a girl) on November 30. The parents alleged the babies were declared dead by the Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh but they later discovered that the boy was alive.

The parents said they were told by the hospital that both the babies were stillborn. The infants were handed over to them in a polythene bag, they said.

The family discovered that the baby boy was breathing just before the last rites, the police said.

On December 2, Delhi Health Minister Satyender Jain had said the hospital’s licence could be cancelled if a probe found it guilty of medical negligence.