JALANDHAR: A newborn girl died at a Jalandhar government hospital after she was allegedly taken off life-support as her parents could not pay Rs 200 for it on Wednesday night. The girl needed life-support as she was born prematurely on July 20 and had jaundice. Her father, Sanjiv Kumar, alleged that she was taken off life support as he could not arrange the money for keeping the baby in phototherapy unit. But hospital authorities insisted that the newborn died of asphyxia while the Punjab government ordered an inquiry into her death. The newborn's mother, Anita, 30, alleged that her child was not even given proper treatment despite her pleas. Anita alleged that the hospital staff literally threw her out. "I walked for around five kms from the hospital to reach my mother's residence past midnight as the staff insisted that we leave the hospital immediately," said Anita.
Jalandhar ADC Parneet Bharadwaj and IAS officer Dr Sumit, who started their inquiry into the death, said that initial probe has revealed callousness on the part of the hospital staff. "...the hospital staff called the security guards and police to push the family out when they tried to raise the issue of negligence on Wednesday night," said Bharadwaj. He said there appeared to be some tempering with hospital record on the cause of death. The hospital staff admitted that they had asked the parents to deposit Rs 200 as the daily fee for phototherapy unit was Rs 25.
-TOI
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