6 tribal infants have died in Madhya Pradesh’ Shahdol district hospital within a span of 12 hours, as per reports. The deaths have been reported between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
As per a report in the Times Of India, the hospital administration has stated that all the children were very ill and some of them were brought to the hospital in a critical condition. They asserted that there were no lapses in duty by the medical staff.
However, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Tusli Silawat has ordered a probe into the deaths.
Among the deceased infants, two were reportedly admitted a fortnight back. 2 were in the general ward where other two were in the Special Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) and the Pediatric ICU of the hospital. All the infants were less than six months old.
Three of the infants reportedly died in a span of four hours on Monday evening. The fourth infant was declared dead at 3.30 am and te fifth at 6 am. The sixth infant died at 7.30 am on Tuesday, 14 January.
As per reports, all the infants were diagnosed with pneumonia. Two more infant deaths were reported in Satna too. After the deaths were highlighted the media, the state health minister had ordered a probe. As per a report in the Dainik Bhaskar, the minister has ordered the respective district collectors and health officers to probe the incidents.
Kamalaeshwar Patel, the minister of Rural Development and Panchayat had visited the Shahdol district hospital on Tuesday morning and spoke to the families of the infants.
CMHO Dr Rajesh Pandey has stated that two of the six infants were on the ventilator. He added that efforts were made to save their lives but they were unsuccessful. He added that though initial probe may hint at medical negligence, a clear case will emerge only after a detailed probe.
Civil Surgeon in charge Mukul Chaturvedi has stated that two of the infants were brought there from other hospitals and were unconscious. He added that negligence can not be alleged on the hospital staff. He, however, added that a probe will be conducted.
It is notable here that recently the deaths of over 100 infants were reported from the JK Lon Hospital in Rajasthan’s Kota in the month of December. The incident had caused a furore nationally after Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot was seen reacting insensitively to the issue.