Newborn declared dead: Max group to terminate services of 2 docs

New Delhi: Max Healthcare has decided to terminate the services of two doctors allegedly involved in the case of a premature baby being wrongly declared dead, the group said in a statement. The decision was taken late last night after Max Healthcare held a meeting in connection with the incident in Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh on November 30. "While the inquiry by the expert group which includes external experts from the IMA is still in process, we have decided to terminate the services of two treating doctors, Dr AP Mehta and Dr Vishal Gupta in the case relating to the twin extreme pre-term babies," Max Healthcare said in a statement last night. The strict action against the doctors was taken on the basis of initial discussions with the expert group and as a reflection of the commitment to higher standards of care, it said. The hospital group had ordered an inquiry into the case on December 1, and its report is expected later this evening. The case pertains to the birth of twins (boy and girl) on November 30. Both the babies were allegedly declared dead by the Max Hospital in Shalimar Bagh. However, the family later found the boy was alive. Two experts from the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have been included in the probe team set up by the Max Healthcare authorities to investigate the case, it had said last evening. Dr Arun Agarwal, chairman, Ethic Committee, IMA, and Dr Ramesh Datta, joint secretary, IMA, have been included as external experts in the group. "The expert group set up by Max Healthcare to investigate the circumstances and protocols followed regarding the premature delivery (23 weeks/5 months) of the twins and the subsequent declaration of death at Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, is working swiftly towards concluding their detailed investigations," it said. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had on December 2 said that if the hospital was found guilty of medical negligence in its probe, it's licence could be cancelled. The mother was brought to the hospital from a nursing home in Paschim Vihar, police said. The parents were earlier told by the hospital that both the babies were stillborn, and were handed to them in a polythene bag, but just before their last rites, the family found that the boy was alive, police said. "We rushed the baby to a nearby nursing home in Pitampura, where he is on life support," the father had earlier said.