NHRC Strickly Asked State To Report Death Of 10 Infants Due To Firebreak In The Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) Of Bhandara District

Bhandara: Ten newborn babies died after a fire broke out in the Special Newborn Care Unit of a hospital in Maharashtra in we hours on Saturday, doctors said.

The infants were aged between a month and three months, a doctor said. District civil surgeon Pramod Khanate said the fire broke out at the Bhandara district hospital at around 1.30 am. There were 17 babies in the unit and seven were rescued, he added.

A nurse first noticed smoke coming out from the neonatal section of the hospital and alerted doctors and other staff who reached there in five minutes, he said.

Fire brigade personnel rescued seven babies from the ‘inbound ward’ of the unit but could not save the 10 other babies, he said. Khandate said the ward where newborn babies are kept requires a continuous supply of oxygen. The cause of the fire in the four-storeyed building is yet to be ascertained but could have been the result of an electrical short circuit, he said.

The consequences of this can be seen from the far-reaching impact of the case. That is, this question is constantly arising, if the state Medical Administration fails to protect constitutional right under Article 21 ( Right to health) safety then who will protect Indian Citizens Right. The first responsibility of the state Medical administration is to provide a secure environment of medical treatment to the citizen in right to the Constitution of India.

But how citizens’ right to constitutional justice is constantly being abused is certainly worrisome. And this is also a violation of human rights. Keeping this because of protecting the interests of human rights, through this letter, we request the National Human Rights Commission to provide proper instructions to the State medical Administration and State Government In which should be directed by the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission intervene and take appropriate action under THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACT, 1993.

Meanwhile, Ashish Rai Law student of Mumbai filed a complaint before the Commission on 30/04/2021 following which the Commission directed as follows:

The complainant has requested the urgent intervention of the Commission regarding the death of 10 infants due to firebreak in the Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Bhandara District General Hospital in Maharashtra on 09.01.2021. It has been alleged that the fatal incident took place due to negligence on the part of the State authorities.

The Commission is of the view that all the buildings where the public is expected to visit in large number, out which hospitals are the most sensitive buildings, where the ailing and helpless patients are admitted, there has to be a mechanism by which periodic audit of such buildings including fire safety equipment should be done and should be obliged to submit such reports.

Let a copy of the complaint be transmitted to the Chief Secretary, Government of Maharashtra to have the allegations inquired and submit an action taken report, which should include, as to what mechanism the State is adopting to ensure that the buildings used by the public are safe; including monetary relief, if any, provided to the next of kin of the deceased children in this matter, within eight weeks.

Accordingly, the commission forwarding herewith a copy of the complaint as an attachment for taking appropriate action in the matter as per the directions of the Commission. It is requested that an Action Taken Report be sent to the Commission within 8 weeks from the date of receipt of this letter.

Any communication by public authorities in this matter may please be sent to the Commission through the HRCNet Portal (https://hrcnet.nic.in) by using id and password already provided to the public authorities (click Authority Login) or through Speed Post/ at email-id cr.nhrc@nic.in. Any Audio/ Video CDs/ pen drives etc. and bulky reports may be sent through Speed Post/ per bearer.

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