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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Fatal Negligence

Newborns dying in a fire inside a government hospital is a devastating indictment of a system that is supposed to protect its most vulnerable patients. The Amravati District Women’s Hospital tragedy, where a blaze killed three infants, joins a long list of preventable institutional failures. Thirty-nine babies were inside the three-compartment facility when the fire erupted after a ventilator in the neonatal unit caught fire. Thirty-six were eventually rescued. Parents and eyewitnesses have...

Fatal Negligence

Newborns dying in a fire inside a government hospital is a devastating indictment of a system that is supposed to protect its most vulnerable patients. The Amravati District Women’s Hospital tragedy, where a blaze killed three infants, joins a long list of preventable institutional failures. Thirty-nine babies were inside the three-compartment facility when the fire erupted after a ventilator in the neonatal unit caught fire. Thirty-six were eventually rescued. Parents and eyewitnesses have alleged that the fire alarms did not sound and the automatic sprinklers failed to activate even as the district administration has said the hospital underwent regular fire audits and had applied for this year’s audit. An audit is meaningful only if it establishes that equipment works when lives depend on it. Maharashtra has already witnessed the deadly consequences of fire-safety failures in public hospitals. In 2021, eleven Covid-19 patients died in a fire at the Ahmednagar district hospital even though a fire audit conducted months earlier had recommended a firefighting system. The Amravati tragedy demands more than the familiar ritual of a high-level inquiry, compensation and promises of “strictest action”. The announcement of ex gratia payments cannot compensate parents who have lost a child they had barely begun to know. The investigation must establish not merely what ignited the fire, but why it was allowed to become fatal. Was the ventilator properly maintained? Were electrical and medical devices routinely inspected? Did alarms function? Were sprinklers operational? Was the NICU appropriately located and equipped for evacuation? Were staff trained and drills conducted? And most importantly, who was responsible for ensuring that every safeguard worked? There is another troubling detail: the neonatal unit was reportedly housed on the third floor, rather than at ground level, and questions have arisen over whether the unit was part of the building’s original plan. The state has built an elaborate architecture of laws and child-protection standards which seldom matches the situation on ground. Whether in government hospitals, schools or anganwadis, safety has become a box to be ticked rather than a responsibility to be lived. The most vulnerable children are consequently left dependent not on systems, but on the vigilance and heroism of individual staff members. That is an appalling way to run the childcare infrastructure of one India’s most developed states. A NICU is perhaps the worst possible place for institutional complacency: its patients are immobile, medically dependent and extraordinarily vulnerable to smoke, heat and even brief disruption of life-support equipment. The government must ensure that the Amravati deaths do not become another entry in the grim ledger of hospital tragedies followed by inquiries, outrage and forgetting. The real test will be whether the state can prevent the next newborn from dying in a hospital that was supposed to save him.

Family Finance Diary

Most people work hard to create wealth. They invest in bank deposits, mutual funds, stocks, insurance policies, real estate, gold, bonds and other assets. But one important question is often ignored: does your family know about all this?


This question has become even more important today. Recently, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted that Indian banks are holding around Rs. 78,000 crore of unclaimed deposits, insurance companies have nearly Rs. 14,000 crore lying unclaimed, mutual fund companies have around Rs. 3,000 crore, and dividends worth around Rs. 9,000 crore are also unclaimed. The government’s “Your Money, Your Right” initiative was launched to help citizens trace and claim such forgotten financial assets.


These numbers tell us something very important. Many families do not lose money because of bad investments. They lose access to money because investments are scattered, undocumented or unknown to the next generation.


Easy to Locate

Personal finance is not only about creating wealth. It is also about ensuring that your family can locate, understand and access that wealth when required.


Every family should maintain one proper financial book. Not just a password-protected file on a laptop. Not just a folder in email. Not just a WhatsApp message. Technology can fail. Phones can get locked. Passwords can be forgotten. Emails can become difficult to search. Excel sheets, links and soft copies can have multiple versions. During difficult times, the family should not be confused about which file is the latest and where to find what.


Hardcopy Book

A simple hardcopy book with proper pages, sections and annexures can become extremely useful. This book should give a bird’s eye view of your complete financial life.


It should mention your bank accounts, fixed deposits, mutual funds, demat accounts, insurance policies, loans, property details, gold holdings, important documents, nominations and advisor contacts. Wherever necessary, annexures can be attached for policy copies, account statements, property papers and other important records.


The idea is to create a clear roadmap for the family. They should know what exists, where it exists and whom to contact.


Liabilities, Nominations

Your family should also know about your liabilities. Home loans, business loans, credit card dues, personal loans or guarantees given should be clearly recorded. Wealth planning is incomplete without liability awareness.


Nominations must also be checked and updated across all investments. Many people assume that old nominations are still correct, but life changes. 


NRI Families

This becomes even more important when children live abroad. Many families today have NRI children who may not know which bank their parents use, where the property documents are kept, who the financial advisor is, or whether any old insurance policy exists.


In such situations, one well-maintained financial book can save the family from confusion, delays and unnecessary stress.


Regular Review

Finally, review this financial book once or twice a year. Updating it is as important as creating it.


A good financial plan should not only grow your money. It should also make sure that your family can find it, claim it and use it. Wealth should not become a mystery after you. It should become security, clarity and peace of mind for the people who matter most.


(The author is Chartered Accountant and CFA (USA). Financial advisor. Vies personal. He could be reached on 9833133605)


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