24 Deaths, Including 12 Newborns, In Span Of 24 Hours In Govt Hospital; What Happened?

24 Patients, Including 12 Newborns, Die In Maharashtra Hospital In A Day

Mumbai: In an alarming development, 24 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours at a state-run hospital in Maharashtra. Among the fatalities are 12 newborns, informed the dean of Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in Nanded.

The dean blamed shortage of medicines and hospital staff for the remarkably high number of deaths in the span of 24 hours.

“Six males and six female babies died in the last 24 hours. Twelve adults also died due to various ailments, mostly snake bites. We faced some difficulty since various staff were being transferred,” the dean said.

“We are a tertiary-level care centre and the only such place in a 70 to 80 km radius. So patients come to us from far-off places. On some days, the number of patients increases and it creates a problem for the budget,” he claimed.

“There is a Haffkine institute from where we are supposed to buy medicines but that also didn’t happen. But we did buy medicines locally and provided them to the patients,” the dean added.

The hospital refuted the dean’s claims about shortage of medicine and funds.

“Essential medicines are available in the hospital. The hospital has Rs 12 crore in funds. For this financial year, Rs 4 crore has been approved. Other patients are being treated as necessary,” the hospital stated in a press release.

“There were 12 adult patients (five male and seven female) and 12 children. Among adults, four were suffering from heart disease, one from poisoning, one from gastric disease, two from kidney ailments, one from obstetric complications, and three were accident victims. Among the children, four in the terminal stage were referred from private hospitals,” the statement added.

Following the deaths, authorities decided to shift patients who were not critical and were new admissions, to the nearby Civil hospital.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said in Mumbai that more information about the “unfortune” incident at the hospital has been sought. He assured action against those who are found responsible.

A committee of experts has been formed to probe the deaths.

“A three-member expert committee from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) district has been formed with a mandate to submit a report by 1 pm tomorrow. I am personally visiting the hospital to review the situation,” PTI quoted Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, Director, Medical Education and Research, Maharashtra, as saying.

Opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the Shinde-headed state government.

“The triple-engine sarkar (BJP, Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar faction of NCP) is responsible for the deaths of all 24 innocent people. They should be made accountable,” said Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule.

“24 deaths, which include 12 newborn babies, in 24 hours in the government hospital in Nanded happened due to lack of supply of medicine by the state government. Shame on a government that only advertises festivals and events,” Vikas Lawande, a spokesperson of Pawar’s NCP, wrote on X.

“A total of 24 lives were lost. Seventy are still critical. There is a lack of medical facilities and staff. Many nurses were transferred and their replacements were not given. Many machines are not working. The hospital’s capacity is 500, but 1,200 patients are admitted. I will speak to Ajit Pawar (about this). The government should look into the matter keenly and take control of the situation,” former Maharashtra CM and Congress veteran Ashok Chavan said after visiting the hospital.