MSHRC Slams BMC For Letting Untrained Staff Conduct ECGs At Shatabdi Hospital; Orders ₹12 Lakh Compensation For Human Rights Violation

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC), in its recent judgment against the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), has held that there was a severe violation of human rights due to the practice of having untrained staff, including ward boys and sweepers, perform critical pre-operative electrocardiogram (ECG) tests at the Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya Shatabdi Hospital.

MSHRC Orders ₹12 Lakh Compensation

In an order passed by the Commission, presided over by Justice A. M. Badar, it was established that the hospital has been operating without a trained ECG technician for over a year, thereby putting the lives of thousands of patients at risk.

The MCGM has been directed to pay a compensation of Rs 12,00,000 for the human rights violations and negligence that occurred over the past year.

Funds To Be Used For Legal Aid Programmes

The compensation is to be paid to the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority within one month and utilized for undertaking preventive and strategic legal aid programmes to benefit victims of legal illiteracy.

“This shows the dark side of healthcare facilities in municipal hospitals and speaks volumes about the negligence in protecting the human rights of patients by the MCGM,” the order stated. The Commission further directed the Municipal Commissioner to submit an action taken report within one month.

Complaint Filed By Social Worker

The case was brought forward by social worker Pallavi Sachin Patil, who alleged that sanitary workers were conducting ECGs on patients. Despite being directed to conduct a personal fact-finding inquiry, the Municipal Commissioner of the MCGM failed to submit a report, displaying what the Commission described as “apathy of a civil servant in protecting the right to life enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”

Untrained Ward Boys Conducting ECGs

During the hearing, Dr. Rajeshree Wayal, representing the MCGM, admitted that ward boys were performing ECGs due to a year-long vacancy in the ECG technician post. The hospital attempted to justify the practice by claiming these were “trained employees” who had gained experience through their length of service.

Commission’s Sharp Observation

The MSHRC rejected this argument. “This reminds me of situations in some parts of the country where medical treatment is given by quacks called ‘Zola Chaap Doctors,’ but this Commission never even dreamt of such a situation prevailing in a hospital run by one of the richest municipal corporations in the country,” Justice Badar observed in the order.

Thousands Of Patients Affected

The Commission emphasized that even a minor mistake in taking an ECG—a vital diagnostic tool for assessing cardiac health before surgery—can lead to “wrong conclusions when interpreted by a doctor for determining a patient’s fitness for operation, thereby jeopardizing safety and risking the patient’s life.”

The Commission noted that between January and August 2025 alone, 3,344 ECGs were conducted by untrained staff. Based on the monthly average, this amounts to an estimated 5,016 patients subjected to negligence annually.

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Recognizing the matter as a “class action complaint” affecting thousands of unidentifiable victims, the MSHRC directed the MCGM to immediately ensure the services of a trained ECG technician at the Pt. Madan Mohan Malviya Shatabdi Hospital.

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