Newborn dies in Delhi hospital, CM orders action plan in week’s time

New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) In wake of the death of a newborn refused admission into four government hospitals, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday ordered Health Minister Satyendar Jain to submit an action plan by month-end to ensure that family of patients in critical condition do not have to run around for life support.

The order comes following the death of a newborn after the four government hospitals refused to admit the baby, citing lack of critical-care beds with ventilator facilities, an official statement said.

"The primary objective of this action plan will be to ensure that live data of functional critical care facilities in all Delhi government hospitals are readily and easily available," it said.

Kejriwal said that if a hospital can't admit a person due to lack of life-saving facilities or due to non-availability of beds, then it will be mandatory for it to find out a hospital in which such facility is available, and ensuring shifting of the patient there, the statement said.

These points should also be included in a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), he added.

"It is an unacceptable scenario since helpless family members keep running from pillar to post and critical time, in which the life of a serious patient could have been saved, is often lost," he said.