BJP MP Varun Gandhi urged the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday to reconsider its decision to suspend the licence of the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi, which has been in operation since 1989, saying the "swift suspension" without a thorough investigation was a gross injustice.
The hospital is named after the father of Varun Gandhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Lok Sabha MP from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust, which runs the Amethi hospital, while party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra are the members of the trust.
Advertisement
Why was the hospital's license suspended?
The license of the hospital was suspended following the death of a 22-year-old woman in a case of alleged medical negligence.
In a letter addressed to Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Brajesh Pathak, Gandhi said the suspension has far-reaching implications for the region's healthcare access, employment and education as a large number of people depend on the hospital for primary healthcare services. The Congress has also demanded revocation of the decision to suspend the hospital's licence, to which Pathak said on Thursday that the step was taken after a probe into the death of a woman.
Advertisement
Pathak, who also holds the health portfolio, said action would be taken against all the hospitals functioning illegally or where negligence is found in treating patients. The state health department suspended the hospital's licence on Monday and put a halt on its OPD and emergency services following a probe into the incident.
On Sunday, police registered a case of death by medical negligence against four employees of the hospital, including its chief executive officer, over the death of a 22-year-old woman, who was admitted to the hospital on September 14 morning after she complained of a stomach ache. She was then referred to a private hospital in Lucknow as her condition worsened. The family of the woman alleged that she died because of an anaesthesia overdose at the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital and an FIR was registered on September 17, according to a report by Indian Express.
