Maharashtra panel fines Mumbai hospital for delaying newborn's discharge

Maharashtra's consumer commission held a Mumbai hospital liable for delaying a two-day-old baby's discharge. The panel said the wait for insurance approval showed insensitivity and amounted to deficiency in service.The commission said a patient cannot be detained for want of bill clearance, particularly when the amount due is less than the deposit already held by the hospital. (Representative image)Maharashtra's consumer disputes commission has held a Mumbai hospital guilty of deficiency in service for delaying the discharge of a two-day-old baby by more than nine hours while waiting for cashless medical insurance approval. Calling the conduct of the hospital officials "callous and insensitive" towards the newborn, the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission asked the hospital to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation and Rs 10,000 towards litigation costs.In its order passed last month in the 2017 case, the state panel also set aside an earlier order of a District Consumer Commission, saying it had considered the discharge rules in a technical manner.It said the district commission was expected to read between the lines while interpreting the rules, especially as the child was only two days old.According to the complainant, a Mumbai resident, his wife delivered twin boys on February 22, 2017. One of the newborns was diagnosed with hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar, and was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Bhatia Hospital. The complainant said he deposited Rs 15,000 at the time of admission. On the morning of February 24, the treating paediatrician advised that the baby be discharged.A discharge slip was prepared at 11:12 am with instructions to release the baby, as the deposit amount was more than the generated bill of Rs 13,515, the complainant said. However, hospital staff did not release the child and waited for cashless approval from the insurance provider's Third Party Administrator.The cashless request was eventually rejected, but even after the father gave a written undertaking that he would pay any outstanding amount within 24 hours of the rejection, the hospital delayed the discharge and released the baby only in the evening. It also added an extra half-day charge.The commission said a patient cannot be detained for want of bill clearance, particularly when the amount due is less than the deposit already held by the hospital. It said the hospital should have considered the complainant's deposit and discharged his son immediately, keeping in mind his age and the mother's anxiety.The panel said officials of the private medical facility "should have allowed the baby boy to leave the hospital to join the company of his mother, but no such priority was given" and added that "the officials of Bhatia Hospital should have behaved in a sensitive manner to complete the process of discharge, but nothing of that sort has happened".Emphasising that the officials' behaviour "was callous and casual and insensitive towards the baby boy, who was two days old", the commission said the conduct of the hospital officials amounted to deficiency in service.It directed the hospital to refund the excess billed amount of Rs 2,000 with 6 per cent annual interest from the date the consumer complaint was filed until its realisation, besides paying Rs 25,000 in compensation and Rs 10,000 as litigation costs.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 6, 2026 23:51 IST