Doctors may be widely known and regarded as Gods in human form, but certain members of the virtually revered fraternity can be callous to the extent of being inhuman. Such an example has been presented by a lady doctor at the district hospital at Moradabad in western UP.
"It's nothing big in a hospital of this size." That is how Dr Vandana Srivastava, chief medical superintendent (CMS), of the hospital cursorily dismisses reporters' questions over the death of as many as 24 infants within a day or two of their birth, in a span of just five days. "In our hospital, 500 to 600 children are born every month. So these deaths are not a big issue," she adds audaciously.
An inquiry has been ordered into the matter, Health Department sources said late evening.
All 24 children died of hypoxia caused by lack of adequate oxygen supply soon after their birth. "Hypoxia or birth asphyxia takes a larger toll among children born underweight," says Dr Anil Kumar, a prominent child specialist here. "But most affected children can be saved with emergency measures, especially if they are kept in a ventilator," he adds.
Dr Srivastava herself agrees that many of these children could have been saved if the doctors at the hospital had acted with alacrity. But, she laments that the deaths are mainly due to the unavailability of a ventilator at the hospital.
"What to speak of a district hospital, ventilators are not available even at divisional headquarters," she says. "But, even if we get a ventilator, keeping it functional requires trained staff and an anesthetist round the clock. There is staff shortage here so that would not be possible," she continues, in an apparent bid to shift blame.
The media report – an exclusive of the 'Zee Sangam' news channel – caught the attention of top bosses in the UP Health Department, and a senior officer confirmed that an inquiry had been ordered into the "shameful and extremely tragic" episode. He said the Health Minister Dr Ahmed Hasan "flew into a fit of rage" on hearing of the incident.
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