Bombay High Court forms expert committee to review deaths in Maharashtra hospitals

The Bombay High Court on Thursday constituted a five member expert committee to recommend short-term and long-term measures to examine deaths that occurred in two government hospitals in Maharashtra and suggest measures to prevent such incidents in the future. .The committee will focus on addressing the issues that led to over 31 deaths, including that of infants, at Government Medical College in Nanded and 14 deaths at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Government Hospital in October 2023.A bench consisting of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice MS Karnik appointed the expert panel, which includes the Secretary of Medical and Health Sciences, the Director of Health Sciences, and the Deans of JJ Medical College, Nanded Medical College and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar Medical College. The committee has been tasked with visiting both hospitals to assess the available infrastructure and medical facilities in these hospitals. It will submit a comprehensive report to the court within two months by June 16..The court was hearing a suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition initiated by the court after concerns were raised about the high number of deaths in government hospitals, which had been attributed to a shortage of medical equipment like ventilators and a lack of sufficient staff. .The government initially assured the Court that no gross negligence had been found but clarified that the hospitals had been overwhelmed by a large influx of critically ill patients, many of whom were referred from private hospitals and smaller clinics. However, in the following hearings, Amicus Curiae Mohit Khanna pointed out that the State had time and again failed to utilise the budget allocated for health and there were large vacancies of doctors and nursing staff in these hospitals. .The Court acknowledged that while it was not possible to immediately overhaul the state’s healthcare infrastructure, there was a need for practical short-term and long-term solutions. “It is necessary to take small steps before giant leaps,” the bench remarked, emphasizing the importance of immediate corrective measures. Therefore, the expert committee was tasked with identifying both immediate and long-term solutions to prevent such tragedies in the future.