Patna HC orders strict regulation of 40-bed hospitals after maternal death
Patna High Court
Patna: The Patna High Court has issued a set of directives aimed at strengthening healthcare regulation in Bihar following a tragic case in Piro, Bhojpur district, where a pregnant woman reportedly died during a post-delivery blood transfusion at an unregistered private hospital.
The incident, which left the newborn without her mother’s care, has prompted the court to call for strict regulatory guidelines for all hospitals in the state with one to 40 beds.
According to the news reports, a single-judge bench, led by Justice Rajiv Roy, while disposing of a criminal petition, instructed the state health department to expedite the formulation of these regulatory guidelines for all hospitals in the state with one to 40 beds. In an affidavit, the state government stated that two high-level committees, headed by the directors-in-chief of health services, have been established to conduct periodic inspections of both private and public clinical establishments.
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The petition followed the death of a woman who delivered a baby girl on January 12 and died shortly thereafter during a blood transfusion at a facility later found to be unregistered and non-compliant with clinical establishment regulations. Her father-in-law subsequently lodged a criminal case at the Piro police station.
Fearing arrest, the hospital’s operators moved the Patna High Court seeking anticipatory bail.
Justice Roy granted pre-arrest bail to the petitioners, subject to certain conditions, including a voluntary contribution by the couple to open a fixed deposit bank account of Rs 2 lakh for the infant, who has been deprived of her mother’s care. The high court also directed the state government to issue a certificate enabling free education for the child at Simultala Residential School or another suitable institution and to provide her with medical health insurance, reports TOI.
