At least 131 newborn babies have died in past 44 days in Lal Ded and G B Pant hospitals bringing another wave of chaos to the valley’s healthcare system. These large number of baby deaths are much above the National Mortality Rate (NMR), which is 31 per 1000 live births. Official sources and the documents in possession with the Kashmir Monitor reveal that “Since December 1 to January 14, 88 infants have died in the GB Pant hospital while 43 newborns have died in the Neo-Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of Lal Ded hospital. However the hospital authorities deny the reports and try to put a rosy picture of these hospitals but according to the documents and top officials sources the deaths have taken place due to “inadequate infrastructure, staff shortage and mismanagement . A senior doctor in Lal Ded hospital said the HSD unit, where the neonates with mostly lung diseases are kept is in bad condition. “We don’t have money to run the HSD unit. It lacks proper heating system in place in the much needed unit. We are running in a debt. We can buy medicines from local market but we can’t buy electricity and other heating system. In HSD we need proper heating apparatus in place, a top official in Lal Ded said. Kashmir monitor managed to access some documents which reveal that there are “liabilities in the HSD unit. Similarly in GB Pant hospital, Kashmir Monitor managed to access the data which reveals that 59 infants died in November, 65 infants died in December and 23 baby deaths were reported in first 14 days of this month. The Medical superintendent of GB Pant hospital, Dr Muneer Masoodi denied the claims saying all is well in the hospital. “We are doing well. The deaths are under control, he said. However, sources said that the mortality rate is even higher than what was witnessed in 2011-2012 when there was a massive uproar over the larger number of baby deaths in the GB Pant hospital. When contacted the Medical Superintendent of Lal Ded, Dr Mushtaq Ahmad denied the claims saying the mortality rate is under control. “Deaths are bound to happen, he told Kashmir Monitor. The concerned higher authorities continue to deny claims about the high mortality rate saying the two tertiary care hospitals, Lal Ded and GB Pant, are running smoothly, but sources say the defunct incubators, ventilators and sepsis is the main cause of deaths of new born babies. Besides this, the official sources said the irony was that no Resident Medical Officer (RMO) remains present in the hospital for the night shift that starts from 4:00 PM to 11:00 AM. “At least one RMO has to be present in the hospital for the night. But from last one and a half month, we have not seen any RMO here for the night shift. They prefer to sit at home to escape from the biting cold, sources confirmed.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Jan 2014 07:19:35 +0000
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