Four newborns die following reported power outage at Chhattisgarh hospital
Newborn babies
A power shutdown at the government-run Ambikapur Medical College in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh reportedly killed four newbornsearly Monday. Families of the deceased babies,all aged between one and five days, alleged that ventilators and the oxygen support system in the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) stopped working during the power outage.
Hospital officials have denied that a power failure even happened and claim it was a “power interruption” and vital life-support systems remained unaffected.
“Electricity supply to the hospital had definitely stopped for some time, but the ventilator and oxygen support systems were on,” insisted Ambikapur medical college dean Dr Ramanesh Murthy. “It was not a power failure, rather it was an interruption for the maintenance work on Monday morning. As the UPS was on, there was no chance of the ventilator and oxygen support system getting shut down,” said Dr Murthy.
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No information on the dead babies was revealed by the hospital who brushed aside the matter saying they were “busy with the probe”. Few other children are said to be critical and under observation.
State Health Minister TS Singhdeo has ordered the health secretary to conduct a high-level inquiry by a team comprising senior officials. Singhdeo flew to Ambikapur to meet the bereaved families and take stock of the situation after learning of the incident at around 10:30 am.
“I have spoken with chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and I’m visiting Ambikapur Medical College Hospital with his permission. I will talk to the doctors and relatives to find out the reason behind the deaths. Accountability will also be fixed and culprits will be punished severely if (their guilt is) established,” Singhdeo said.
The deaths were reported between 5 am and 8.30 am on Monday. Dr Murthy stressed that the babies who lost their lives were already in a critical state and there was no link between their deaths and the power interruption.
“Seven nurses and a doctor were on duty and they reported the death between these hours. While two of the children weighed around 1.5 kg each because of their premature birth, two others were suffering from heart and respiratory problems even though their weight was near normal,” said Dr Murthy.
He further informed that a similar incident was reported one and a half years ago, when two-three children died. All of them were premature births and weighed 800-1200 gram.
(With inputs from agencies)
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