HC asks civic body to appoint more doctors in neo-natal course

The Bombay High Court has asked Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai to submit within a week a representation to the Medical Council of India (MCI) for increasing the number of resident doctors in the postgraduate course of neo-natal speciality.
A copy of such representation should be endorsed to Government of India in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said a bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah yesterday.
The HC further directed the MCI to take a decision within two months from the date of receipt of representation.
The bench also asked the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to take up the matter with the MCI for taking a positive stand on the issue.

The matter has been posted for further hearing on January 19.
The court was hearing a suo moto public interest litigation on the issue of neo-natal deaths across the state on a report published in a city newspaper. The report said premature babies were turned away from Mumbai's civic hospitals due to shortage of Neo-Natal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).

Additional government pleader Milind More informed the court that the state government had complied with the norms laid down by the Centre on facilities and doctors.
Counsel for Municipal Corporation stated that there has been a mistake on the part of the departments of the civic body in not sending a representation to MCI for increasing the number of resident doctors in the postgraduate course of neonatal speciality.

The BMC had approached the High Court earlier after the MCI rejected its request to relax norms for more neonatal care course seats.
Following the hearing, a bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sonak had directed the BMC to make a representation before MCI within two weeks.