Hours after AAP MP Somnath Bharti sought help on social media from a man who had alleged that Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital in Delhi’s Moti Nagar was not discharging his newborn twins even after two months as he had not paid Rs 1.3 million, the hospital discharged the children on Tuesday.
Pankaj Kumar Mishra, a security guard posted at an ATM kiosk in Gurgaon, had alleged that he had paid Rs 5 lakh but the hospital demanded more money to discharge his twins, who were born on July 17.
But in a statement issued after asking the parents to take the twins home, the hospital said the family had behaved inappropriately towards staff on September 7, putting doctors and staff at risk. It also said the parents were not ready to complete the discharge formalities despite being notified to take the twins home.
In a letter to the Moti Nagar police chief on September 7, Mishra said his wife had given birth to twins at the hospital on July 17, after which the twins were shifted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). However, the hospital did not discharge the twins even after they were shifted from the NICU, he said.
“They asked me to pay Rs 1.3 million to bring the children home,” said Mishra, whose wife gave birth to twins through in vitro fertilisation (IVF) 14 years after their marriage.
Mishra claimed that he had gone to Apollo Cradle Hospital in the seventh month of his wife’s pregnancy after being referred by ESI Hospital in Gurgaon. He said he was told that the entire process from his wife’s admission to the birth would cost between Rs 400,000-500,000. He said he was assured of discounts and the cost was reduced to Rs 250,000-300,000, adding that nothing was communicated in writing by the hospital.
Mishra claims that since the birth, he has paid Rs 5,81,000, which he arranged through relatives. Even after his wife was discharged from the hospital, the children remained in the NICU till August 31, Mishra said. Despite repeated requests, he was denied the opportunity to see his children and was only allowed to see them after paying another Rs 1 lakh. He also said that the hospital was issuing daily bills of Rs 60,000-65,000.
Mishra said doctors told him the twins were discharged from the NICU on August 31 and were being nurtured in a nursery. “I requested that the children be discharged so that I could take them to ESI Hospital, but the hospital said they would help through an NGO… The NGO posed for a photoshoot with me for a video to post on social media in the hope of raising funds, but my request was rejected as the video was deemed not emotive,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the hospital said, “At Apollo Cradle, we are committed to providing the highest quality of medical care and ensuring patient comfort. This case concerns a case of IVF twin birth. It was one of those high-risk deliveries that required specialized care as the babies were of very low birth weight and delivered via emergency Caesarean section. The medical team at Apollo Cradle handled the case with due care and the babies were delivered safely and the mother was in good health.”
The mother was rushed to Apollo Cradle Hospital in critical condition, it added. “Once admitted to Apollo Cradle Hospital, the team was able to extend the pregnancy to 30 weeks and two days to safely deliver the babies. Immediately after delivery, the premature twin babies were in critical condition and admitted to the NICU. The medical team worked around the clock to ensure the babies’ survival and we are happy to announce that both babies are doing well.”
The hospital said the mother was discharged in good clinical condition on July 20 and the parents were notified when the babies were ready to be discharged on August 31. “The parents refused to go through the discharge procedures and were rude towards hospital staff. Staff repeatedly tried to persuade the parents to take the twins home but the family continued to ignore their communications,” the hospital said.
