Shalimar Bagh’s Max Hospital to remain open as stay on cancellation of licence extended

The Court of the Financial Commissioner on Tuesday allowed Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, to remain open by extending the stay on a Delhi government order that cancelled

The Court of the Financial Commissioner on Tuesday allowed Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, to remain open by extending the stay on a Delhi government order that cancelled the hospital’s licence last month.

The government had cancelled the licence of the hospital on December 8 for allegedly wrongly declaring a newborn dead. (HT Photo)

The stay will remain operational till the next hearing on February 8.

The government had cancelled the licence of the hospital on December 8 for allegedly wrongly declaring a newborn dead.

“The decision to cancel the licence of the hospital was not just because of a case of negligence, but also because of previous violations,” said Dr Kirti Bhushan, director general of health services, in the hearing on the case on Tuesday.

The government, in its cancellation order, had said that the hospital was a “habitual offender”.

An inspection by the health department earlier had found that the hospital made separate, discriminatory arrangements for free treatment to the poor. The inspection also found that the hospital admitted less than half of the number of poor patients than it should have.

When the court asked the government why the hospital was not given a one-month notice under the Nursing Home Act, Bhushan said, “As per the 2007 judgment of the Delhi high court, in cases of violations of EWS norms the government is authorised to take action,” the official said.

Delhi government has been asked to submit its arguments in writing before the next hearing date.

“We are confident of a favourable outcome from these proceedings,” Max Healthcare said in a statement.

On November 30, the hospital had declared one of the newborn twins dead. The baby boy was handed over to the parents in a plastic bag, along with his stillborn sister. When the parents took the bodies for burial, the baby started moving and was admitted to a clinic in Pitampura. It died on December 6.

Reacting to allegations of the babies being wrapped in a polythene bag, the hospital clarified, “The twins were wrapped as per proper medical protocol by a qualified and experienced nurse. On specific request by the family, a bag was handed over to them as an exception.”