Health authorities in Palamu have partially suspended the registration of a private nursing home for three days after two women died following caesarean deliveries at the facility within 24 hours. The order bars the nursing home from admitting new patients or conducting normal deliveries and caesarean operations during the suspension period.
The action was issued on Monday under the Clinical Establishments Act, according to health officials. Civil surgeon and chief medical officer Dr Anil Kumar Srivastava said on Tuesday that the facility had been restrained from accepting new patients and carrying out childbirth procedures during the suspension.
The first woman, 27-year-old Jyoti Dubey, delivered a 3 kg girl on October 23 but died a few hours after the operation at the nursing home, officials said. The following day, 28-year-old Suman Pandey delivered twin boys, each weighing 2.2 kg, through a caesarean section. Her condition later deteriorated and she died after being shifted to a private multi-speciality hospital in Daltonganj.
Srivastava said both women had undergone caesarean operations at the nursing home, although the two deaths occurred at different locations. “The first woman died at the nursing home, while the second died at another hospital. Both, however, had undergone caesarean operations at this facility,” he said.
A five-member team has been asked to conduct a gap analysis of the nursing home’s infrastructure, equipment and functioning. The inquiry report is awaited. Officials said the newborns were safe.
The temporary restrictions represent an administrative response while the health department examines the facility’s capacity and clinical operations. The order does not establish the cause of either death, and the inquiry is expected to examine the nursing home’s infrastructure, equipment and functioning before officials determine what further action, if any, is required.
The case also places attention on the oversight mechanisms governing private healthcare facilities in smaller urban centres. Under the Clinical Establishments Act, authorities can review whether registered facilities meet prescribed requirements and can impose restrictions when concerns arise. In this instance, the immediate order limits the nursing home’s maternity-related activity rather than closing the facility entirely.
The nursing home’s operators, Dr Rakesh Kumar and Dr Priya Sinha, denied negligence. Kumar said the facility had made efforts to save both women and had arranged blood and an ambulance without delay. He also said the nursing home followed protocols under the Act.
The competing accounts will be examined through the departmental inquiry. The next formal step is the submission of the five-member team’s report on the nursing home’s infrastructure, equipment and functioning.
