Committee to Audit 30 Civic-Run Maternity Homes in Mumbai
Mumbai: Months after a tragic incident in which a woman and her newborn died due to a C-section performed under mobile torchlight at a civic-run hospital in Mumbai, the Bombay High Court has ordered a social audit of all 30 maternity and nursing homes operated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
A division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Dr. Neela Gokhale issued the order on Wednesday, following submissions by senior advocate Gayatri Singh, who raised concerns over poor medical infrastructure in Mumbai’s civic-run maternity homes. The court has directed the committee to complete the audit within eight weeks and submit its findings.
Committee Members and Responsibilities
The committee will consist of medical and health experts, along with women’s rights advocates. The members include:
- Dr. Kamaxi Bhate, Retired Professor of Community Medicine, KEM Hospital
- Dr. Padmaja, Head of Gynaecology Department, KEM Hospital
- Dr. Reena Vani, Professor, Gynaecology Department, Cooper Hospital
- Brinelle D’Souza, Chairperson, Centre for Health and Mental Health, TISS
- Sonya Gill, Vice-President, Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Sanghatana
- Sangeeta Rege, Health and Women’s Rights Advocate
Additionally, two doctors from JJ Hospital and Nair Hospital will be included in the committee, as suggested by Government Pleader Poornima Kantharia.
Tragic Incident That Led to the Court’s Order
The case stems from a petition filed by the husband of Shahidunnisa Shaikh, who died after a C-section delivery at Sushma Swaraj Maternity Hospital in Mumbai’s Bhandup area. The petition alleges that:
- The hospital lacked electricity on the day of delivery.
- Doctors performed the C-section using a mobile torchlight due to the absence of a backup generator.
- The patient was denied a bed and made to wait in the ward.
- After the delivery, both mother and child died, but the woman was still transferred to another hospital at midnight in an ambulance without basic facilities.
- The hospital lift was non-functional, forcing staff to carry the bleeding woman down the stairs to the ambulance.
An enquiry report by JJ Hospital confirmed that the hospital had no electricity supply and that the procedure was indeed performed under mobile torchlight. However, the BMC maintains that electricity failed only after the delivery, and only some post-delivery procedures were conducted under mobile light.
With the court-ordered audit, authorities hope to uncover the extent of infrastructure deficiencies in civic-run maternity homes and take necessary corrective measures.
