A flurry of infant deaths in Shahdol district hospital in northeast Madhya Pradesh has raised serious concern. Six infants under the age of four months have been reported dead in the past five days—of them, four died in 24 hours spanning November 26 and 27.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh, while taking serious note of these infant deaths, has directed a probe. During a meeting held on Monday, he directed officials to submit a report of the probe to him and said that if doctors and staff of the district hospital are found guilty, they should be punished. Such incidents should not recur, he warned.
Madhya Pradesh has the highest infant mortality rate (IMR) in the country. The latest sample registration system (SRS) data puts the IMR at 48 per 1000 live births for the year 2018.
There were reports that six children had died in 48 hours, but the chief medical and health officer (CMHO) of Shahdol, Dr Rajesh Pandey, told The WEEK that four infants had succumbed in span of 24 hours on November 26-27, while a death each had been reported on November 29 and 30.
All these kids had been admitted to the special newborn care unit (SNCU) of the hospital. Five belong to different parts of Shahdol, while one belonged to neighbouring Umaria. Three of them suffered from acute pneumonia while others had other complications. One of the babies was newborn and the other five were aged between two and four months, the CMHO said.
Kin of some of the deceased children had alleged negligence in treatment at the district hospital. Pandey, however, said that the kids had been brought to the hospital in a critical condition, which meant delay in identification and presentation of the cases by field workers like ASHA, anganwadi workers and ANM (auxiliary nurse midwives). “We are now planning to ensure closer monitoring of the kids and immediate referral to health institutions by the field level workers,” the CMHO said.
Meanwhile, in Bhopal, during the meeting with the health department officials, Chouhan instructed that if there is any lacunae in the arrangements for the treatment of children, they should be done away with. “There should be proper arrangement of ventilators and other equipment. If necessary, services of specialist doctors should be sought for treatment,” the CM said.
He said that in the case of death of children in Shahdol, it should be investigated whether there is any negligence at the root of it. Officials of the health department of the district, division and the capital should take this incident seriously and if necessary, send medical experts from Jabalpur to treat such children.
Chouhan also said that arrangements should be inspected in all hospitals. Health department team should remain alert and cautious for ailments such as pneumonia in patients, especially children suffering from diseases other than COVID-19.
Health Minister Dr Prabhuram Chaudhary was present at the meeting. Additional chief secretary (health) Mohammad Suleman said that reports have been sought from the doctors of Shahdol hospital and action will be taken against those found guilty of negligence. Principal secretary to chief minister Manish Rastogi was also present.
