38 Patients Died at Govt Hospitals in Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar from Sept 30-Oct 4, 2023

The Bombay high court on Thursday set up a committee of medical experts to examine the issue of lack of infrastructure and medical facilities in state-run hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.

- Saurabha Kulshreshtha

MUMBAI:

The court was hearing a suo moto public interest litigation filed after advocate Mohit Khanna wrote a letter to the chief justice, highlighting deaths of at least 38 patients, including 18 infants, at the government hospital in Nanded and 26 in the state-run hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, between September 30 and October 4, 2023.

The division bench of chief justice Alok Aradhe and justice MS Karnik, while observing that a long-term solution to the issue of infrastructural development in state-run hospitals would take years to implement, directed the state to form a committee to address short-term redressal to ensure prevention of such tragedies.

"This is a serious issue, which the court has taken up suo moto. We need both long-term and short-term solutions to it," it stated.

Advocate Neha Bhide, representing the state, suggested forming a panel of expert bodies, including medical personnel and medical college deans, to examine the situation.

"A team of experts needs to be involved, who will be much more aware of the ground reality," she stated.

The intervenor in the case, Jan Arogya Abhiyan, an organisation dealing with public health, accentuated the persistent issue of infrastructural shortfall in state-run hospitals.