Bombay High Court orders audit of civic-run maternity homes after pregnant woman's death

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday set up an eight-member panel for auditing 30 civic-run maternity homes following the death of a pregnant woman who was allegedly operated on under a mobile flashlight due to a power outage at a hospital.

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale said the panel comprising experts from the medical field shall conduct the audit and submit its report in eight weeks.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by the husband of the 26-year-old pregnant woman seeking compensation and a detailed probe into the incident, which occurred last April.

The petition stated that surgery was conducted on the woman under a mobile flashlight at the Sushma Swaraj Maternity Home in the Bhandup area of Mumbai allegedly due to a power outage. The fetus delivered after the procedure also died.

The woman was transferred to Sion Hospital in critical condition post-surgery, where she died hours later, as per the petition.

The petitioner claimed that the maternity home lacked adequate facilities and that doctors performed the surgical procedure under the mobile torchlight.

The petition said the husband was not provided medical records of his deceased wife despite multiple requests.

The petitioner's counsel Gayatri Singh had argued that the maternity facility lacked electricity, adequate staff, and beds. She contended that the power supply snapped several times on the day of the incident.

Singh on Wednesday suggested the names of six of eight members for their induction into the panel. Advocate Purnima H Kantharia, representing the hospital and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, didn't object.

Kantharia said two doctors from state-run hospitals can also be inducted into the panel.

Kantharia said the audit will be conducted as per Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) under LaQshya or Labour Room Quality Improvement Initiative of the Central Government to reduce preventable maternal and newborn mortality.

The bench said four teams of two doctors each will visit nursing homes to conduct a social audit as per SOPs and directed the panel to submit a report within eight weeks. PTI SP NSK