The management of the Ram Manohar Lohia Rajkiya Chikitsalaya in the Farrukhabad district of Uttar Pradesh is under scanner after 49 children lost their lives in the last 30 days.
Reports claim 19 babies died at the time of delivery and 30 others while they were undergoing treatment in the newborn care unit. The prime causes of the deaths: Shortage of oxygen supply and lack of medicine.
However, this is not the first time that a hospital management is being blamed for deaths. There have been a number of such incidents over the past few years where sheer lack of proper mangement claimed the lives of innocent people. Take a look:
Gorakhpur hospital tragedy
Gorakhpur's BRD Medical College tragedy came as a shock to the country after 61 children died in the state-run hospital in three days, and the reasons behind the deaths included everything from encephalitis to shortage of oxygen supply.
The families of the children claimed the hospital did not provide medicine required for treatment, and was also not treating the patients properly.
Death of 800 children in Jharkhand hospitals
While the country was still recovering from the Gorakhpur tragedy, reports emerged of the death of 800 children in Jharkhand hospitals so far this year. BL Sherwal, the director of Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), said 660 children had died there, while 164 deaths where reported from Jamshedpur's Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital.
"This year 4,855 children were admitted and 4,195 were discharged after being cured... (A total of) 660 children could not be saved. We have treated and cured 86.40 percent of the children," Sherwal said.
#WATCH Rajasthan: Verbal spat between two doctors in OT during the surgery of a pregnant woman in Jodhpur's Umaid Hospital (29.8.17) pic.twitter.com/eZfHHISQGB
— ANI (@ANI) August 30, 2017
Infant dies as doctors argue
An argument between two doctors in the middle of a Caesarean surgery at the operation theatre of Jodhpur's Umaid hospital led to the death of a baby. The video of the incident showed the sedated woman lying on the operation table while gynaecologist Dr Ashok Neniwal and anaesthetist Dr ML Tak quarrelled.
"Both doctors have been removed immediately, and disciplinary action will be taken against them," Umaid Hospital Principal AL Bhat told ANI. The surgery was soon resumed but the doctors couldn't save the baby.
Chhattisgarh sterilisation campaign
In November 2014, after a mass sterilisation campaign, 15 women died as it went horribly wrong. The families claimed that they were forced by the health workers to attend the camp. At the free government-run camp in the central state of Chhattisgarh, around 80 women underwent surgery for laparoscopic tubectomies and about 60 fell ill shortly afterward, the officials said.
PBM hospital fire
A fire broke out in the nursery ward of the Bikaner's PBM government hospital in January 2013. It led to the death of four infants.
The fire broke out in the early hours of the day due to a short circuit in an air-conditioner in the ward where 22 infants were admitted.
It was reported later that the wires couldn't carry the heavy load which resulted in the fire breaking out.
Oxygen cut off at Indore hospital
Oxygen supply was mysteriously snapped at Indore's MY Hospital on June 22, which led to the death of 11 people, including two children.
The chairman of autonomous body of MGM Medical College — to which MY Hospital is attached — tried to absolve the hospital of wrongdoing by saying: "There is no negligence. I have been to every ward of the hospital after certain local newspapers carried the misinformation. There was no break in oxygen supply. The deaths are routine in a 1400-bed hospital."
Reports, however, claimed that the oxygen supply was cut-off around 15 minutes, leading to the deaths.
