Death of newborn in Haryana: Initial probe points to ‘communication gap’

A preliminary inquiry by the Haryana Health Department has pointed to a communication gap in locating an available ventilator for a newborn who died after allegedly failing to get timely ventilator support in Hisar, prompting authorities to launch a detailed investigation into the incident.

Recognising the seriousness of the case, the Health Department has referred the matter to the District Medical Negligence Board to examine whether any lapses or negligence occurred on the part of officials involved in handling the emergency.

The initial findings suggest that while the family was being referred from one hospital to another, no coordinated effort was made to check the availability of ventilators in nearby government hospitals.

“The ventilator was available at the civil hospital in Rohtak at the time when the child was taken to Rohtak and was admitted to the PGIMS at Rohtak without ventilator support. Moreover, the ventilators are also available in the civil hospitals in the adjoining districts of Fatehabad, Jind and Sirsa but nobody tried to check whether the ventilators were in use or available for patients at these civil hospitals,” an official said.

The newborn, born to Pooja at Maharaja Agrasen Civil Hospital in Hisar on Wednesday, reportedly developed severe respiratory distress immediately after birth and required urgent ventilator support. The child was first referred to Maharaja Agrasen Medical College, Agroha, where no ventilator was available. The family was then directed to the PGIMS, Rohtak. However, according to the family, ventilator support was unavailable there as well. They eventually returned to Hisar and admitted the baby to a private hospital, where the infant died around noon on Thursday.

The child’s father, Rakesh Kumar, a migrant labourer living in Mahavir Colony, Hisar, said he spent nearly 24 hours moving between three hospitals in search of ventilator support. “I kept on shuttling between three hospitals for about 24 hours but could not get the ventilator support which led to the death of the newborn,” he said.

The incident has also brought attention to the utilisation of ventilators at Maharaja Agrasen Civil Hospital. Sources said the hospital has one neonatal ventilator and around 40 other ventilators. Apart from the baby ventilator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and two ventilators functioning in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the remaining machines are either lying unused in storage or are out of order.

According to sources, the ventilators were supplied by the Centre during the Covid-19 pandemic. Of the 40 machines, 25 have remained in storage without ever being used, while 13 have developed faults and are currently non-functional.

Director General of Health Services Dr Manish Bansal said the Medical Negligence Board was examining the complaint filed by Rakesh Kumar.