Pune woman’s death: CM’s Relief Fund to foot cost of treating her twins, says Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said the CM’s Relief Fund will bear the expenses for the treatment of the premature twins of a Pune woman, who died after being denied timely treatment.

Tanisha Bhise, wife of the personal secretary of BJP MLC Amit Gorkhe, was first allegedly refused admission at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital over non-payment of a Rs 10 lakh deposit. Subsequently, she died at another facility after giving birth to twin daughters.

Fadnavis said he learnt about the incident from the Bhise family on Saturday when he visited Pune.

“A full investigation will be conducted in this case, and action will be taken as per the report,” he said.

“Today, the biggest question facing the family is the health of their newborn babies. Since it was a premature delivery, both babies are in the ‘NICU’ and they will have to undergo treatment there for some more time. The cost of it is also high,” he said.

Fadnavis said he has instructed officials to pay for the treatment of the babies from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

Earlier, the CM said that his government was working on drafting a standard operating procedure (SOP) to prevent such incidents.

Mistakes need to be corrected, the chief minister told reporters after the Bhise family and Gorkhe met him here seeking strict action against the hospital administration.

The hospital is under fire from political parties and citizens' groups for allegedly denying admission to the woman.

Earlier in the day, the hospital announced it would no longer ask for deposits from patients at the emergency department in view of the latest event.