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| Govt internal report makes startling disclosure | | '500 infants died in a year in valley's Paediatric hospital' | | Asif Iqbal Naik
Jammu, Nov 4: In a shocking disclosure made in the report prepared by the government with regard to functioning of valley's top ranked pediatric hospital, nearly 500 infants have died in the last one year.
Even though the state government promised radical changes when the issue of death of infants came to the fore, but there has been no action yet, not even on the Centre's promise of a new children's hospital. Kashmir's sole paediatric hospital, the GB Pant, continues to be a death trap for infants. An internal report accessed by "Early Times" showed that there has been no drop in infant deaths. Nearly 500 babies have died since September 2012 which was a repeat of 2011-2012, which prompted huge outrage and the government promised of radical measures. Although there has been a visible improvement in work-culture, discipline and sanitation in the hospital, somehow the Omar Abdullah government has been unable to put a check on the mortality of the neonates.
The administration had also procured new equipment for the Neonate Intensive Care Unit and trained staff to contain infections, the deaths continue. The people in Kashmir said that the Doctors are available to see patients, but specialist care is not available in the hospital. Alarmed by the deaths, social activists has sought court intervention. They said that even though the state government forms committees, but does not take any action. Even the Union Health Ministry seems to have given up, he had promised to set up an exclusive 200-bed children's hospital in Srinagar and provide liberal funding for childcare. But a year has gone by, and none of these promises have been kept.
Meanwhile minister for Medical Education Taj Mohi-ud-din said that centre has not accorded sanction to any children hospital for Srinagar. "Unfortunately no project was sanctioned by the union Health Ministry. We have identified the land and had also finished the other formalities, beside have also sent a request for the same--- but till date we have not received any sanction from union health ministry with regard to construction of children hospital in Kashmir valley" Said Taj Mohi-ud-din . He said that the one man commission appointed by the government has found that the reason behind the high death rate was shifting of children in critical condition from other hospitals. He said that the children brought to the hospital from far flung areas of the valley were already in critical condition (Half dead) or even some were brought dead in the hospital and added that after the death of these children, the figure increased many fold. He said that even at national level the average death rate among the infants is same like J & K. he said that his ministry will take action against those found guilty of any negligence, but added that in his report, the one man commission did not incriminate anyone. He said that the increase in the death rate of children is a very serious matter. He said that this type of problem cannot be fought alone and said that it requires a collective effort from the government to deal with such problem. |
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