55 kids die in Nashik hospital in August

With reports surfacing that 55 infants died in August in the Nashik district civil hospital for various reasons including lack of adequate ventilators and oxygen cylinders. Maharashtra government has swung into action but have refused to draw parallels with Gorakhpur and Farrukhabad.

In fact, in the past five months, there have been reports of 187 deaths, however, the maximum was 55 in August.

The Special Newborn Care Unit of the hospital has come under serious scrutiny after the incident. "The Nashik deaths cannot be compared with the incidents of Uttar Pradesh," Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said. "We are looking into the issue," he said.

Defending the government, health minister Dr Deepak Sawant said: "The kids have been brought when they were in the critical stage." The number of admissions to the hospital too has been on the higher side, he said.

"One of the main reasons is that we have no ventilators. We got sanction for 21 beds, new maternal wing, but the problem is that we need to cut a tree and have not got permission till now," said Dr G M Hole.

Nearly 350 new born kids were admitted to the hospital in August of which 55 kids reportedly died because of lack of oxygen cylinders, ventilator and other health facilities.

This comes close on the heels of incidents in Uttar Pradesh - where 49 children were reported dead at a hospital in Farrukhabad and in Gorkhapur where 63 kids had died in a span of few days.

According to reports, a majority of the deaths were because of various reasons like premature birth and lung weakness.

NCP legislator Jaywantrao Jadhav, who visited the civil hospital said that not a single ventilator set was available in any state civil hospital, including the one at Nashik.

"Only one newborn should be kept in an incubator to avoid infection, maintain temperature and to treat jaundice. But, the Nashik civil hospital is keeping four infants in one incubator due to lack of adequate facilities," he said.
DH News Service