Two weeks ago in Indore, two newborn babies died in the hospital after being bitten by rats. Both infants were born with health complications and were being kept under surveillance in the neo-natal intensive care unit at Maharaja Yeshwantrao hospital, which is Indore’s leading public hospital. Though the hospital claimed that the reason for their deaths is their health complications, and not the rat infestation, the families and activists demanded action against the hospital for its gross negligence of basic sanitation. This incident has caused uproar throughout the state, and even the country, with many questioning the state of public health infrastructure in the nation.
The tragic deaths: newborns lost amidst hospital infestation
Both infants were brought into the hospital due to the congenital complications. The first baby had pneumonia and other complications, and died after being bitten by rats on September 2nd, Tuesday. On the very same day, Dr Ashok Ghangoria, the dean of MGM medical college, conveyed that the condition of the second baby is stable despite ‘deformities‘. This infant was operated on for septicaemia and showed signs of steady recovery. However, on September 3rd (Wednesday), the infant died, and the hospital superintendent claimed that it was due to septicaemia, the condition she was operated for.
He also mentioned that the rat bites merely resulted in a ‘minor abrasion at the tip and nothing serious‘. After finding evidence of rats roaming around the ward, crawling through wires and going to different beds, both infants were shifted to a different ward. However, the hospital maintained that the rats had nothing to do with the death of the babies.
The hospital’s response and administrative fallout
After the first infant’s death, the hospital suspended two nursing officers, and the nursing superintendent was removed from his post. Showcause notices were issued to the nursing officer in charge and the head of pediatric surgery. The private company, to which the cleaning duties and pest control was outsourced, was fined Rs 1 lakh by the hospital. They also issued a warning notice to the third-party cleaning company.
The dean of MGM Medical College, the medical college associated with the hospital, said that the matter will be investigated by a high-level committee. In the latest developments, the head of the pediatric surgery department Dr Brijesh Lahoti was removed, replaced by Dr Ashok Kumar Ladda. Due to alleged negligence, Dr Manoj Joshi was suspended for not performing his duty. However, the superintendent of the hospital, Dr Ashok Yadav, went on leave for fifteen days due to ill health.
The public outcry: families left in the dark
The deaths have caused uproar among activists and the families of the infants. The hospital initially claimed that the first girl was abandoned by her family. However, that was not the case. After two days of waiting to see her at the ICU, both parents were refused and couldn’t even see the doctor. Unable to afford the stay, they left the hospital after they were reassured that their baby would recover, and they would be called when her condition improved after surgery.
The hospital initially claimed that the first girl was abandoned by her family. However, that was not the case. After two days of waiting to see her at the ICU, both parents were refused and couldn’t even see the doctor.
They went back to their village, waiting for the call. Devram and Manju, the parents, were not able to check in on her progress as they needed a visitor’s pass to enter the hospital. As they weren’t in the hospital at the time of her death, the hospital informed the police, as per procedure, claimed Dr Ghangoria. The parents only got to know about their infant’s death through activists who have been protesting regarding the incident, mainly from the Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) group.
The hospital gave the body wrapped in plastic to the parents after a post-mortem. To the devastation of the parents, while performing the last rites, they discovered that four of the baby’s fingers had been gnawed off by rats. Conveying this horror to the media, Lokesh Mujalda, the president of JAYS, demanded strict action. The organisation asked for the suspension of the hospital superintendent among other senior officials, and also demanded that a criminal case be registered, a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The hospital had, from the beginning, denied that the rat bites were the cause of death for either of the babies. For one of them, they claimed it was merely a minor abrasion. In the case of the other infant, they blatantly lied to the parents by saying the death had nothing to do with the rats. The parents found out about the rat infestation through media reports. The hospital has claimed that there are rats in the building as it is a very old complex, and the rats enter through adjacent buildings, which are equally old. Dr Ghangoria said that the rats have made entry inside due to a broken pipeline.
NHRC and MP HC demand answers
A few days after the incident, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices, looking for a take action report within 10 days. NHRC issued notice to the Principal Secretary of Madhya Pradesh government’s Public Health and Medical Education department and the district collector of Indore. Based on the collector’s instructions, ADM Roshan Rai wrote a cheque of the sum of five lakhs each to both families. The NHRC notice came after a complaint was filed by Network for Access to Justice, a non-profit organisation, arguing that the families have suffered an irreparable loss and immediate action is necessary.
The NHRC notice came after a complaint was filed by Network for Access to Justice, a non-profit organisation, arguing that the families have suffered an irreparable loss and immediate action is necessary.
In the notice, the commission said that the complaint suggests gross medical negligence on part of Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital to ensure basic hygiene. It also said that this breached Right to Life and Health under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. NHRC also stated in the notice that immediate action must be taken to improve the safety standards of government hospitals across the state.
Priyank Kanoongo, a member of NHRC, pointed out that there hadn’t been any action against any senior officials at the time. Accountability needs to come from the very top in order for the system to be fixed, he said. Madhya Pradesh High Court also issued a notice to authorities, asking what action has been taken in the matter. The court also said that prima facie, the incident looked to be ‘gross negligence‘.
Prior to this, the Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said that he had given instructions to the district collector, the health minister, and the principal secretary of the health department to take action. However, there was outrage among the opposition. Rahul Gandhi took to X and called public hospitals ‘dens of death‘, saying that ‘this incident is so horrific, inhuman and insensitive that even hearing about it sends shivers down the spine. Children have been snatched from mothers’ laps, simply because the government failed to fulfill its most basic responsibility.‘
It is important to note here that for eight years, Indore has ranked first as the cleanest city in India. If the cleanest city has such poor, unsanitary conditions in its crumbling health infrastructure, what are the metrics for a clean city really measuring? This incident highlights the gap between statistics and lived reality, once again bringing attention to the sad state of affairs in government hospitals. People have to choose between private hospitals with exorbitant rates or public hospitals with questionable safety. The presence of rats in an intensive care unit, especially a neo-natal intensive care unit, of Indore’s largest government hospital only shows the long road to improving public medical facilities in India.
About the author(s)
Samhita is a final year student of English Studies at IIT Madras. She enjoys reading, and especially loves engaging with women's fiction, as part of her academic research as well. She's a huge fan of sudokus, crosswords, and all sorts of puzzles.
