Indian doctors fired for wrongly declaring newborn dead

Two doctors have been fired from a hospital in Delhi after mistakenly pronouncing a newborn dead on 30 November.

According to NDTV, a 22-week pregnant mother gave birth to twins, of which the girl was a stillborn while the boy was declared dead hours later.

The bodies of the twins were handed to the parents in plastic bags. Six hours later, the parents realised the baby was alive upon sensing movement in one of the packages while on their way to the funeral.

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The incident sparked outrage and began a debate over the quality of private healthcare which can be costly. The privately run Max Hospital said in a statement that "this strict action has been taken on the basis of our initial discussions with experts".


"While the inquiry by the expert group which includes external experts from Indian Medical Association is still in process, we have decided to terminate the services of the two treating doctors," the hospital added.

The government's inquiry into the incident is ongoing.

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According to the twins' grandfather, the family rushed the newborn to a nearby hospital where they were told that their baby was still alive but required critical medical care and had to be put in an incubator.

This was the second time in recent months where a private hospital in India has been accused of negligent care. Last month, a girl died of dengue fever in another hospital and the parents allege they were overcharged for her treatment.

This story originally appeared on NDTV