Rajasthan: Jodhpur hospital records 146 children death in December

Amid outrage over the death of over 100 children at a Kota hospital in Rajasthan, a report prepared by a hospital in Jodhpur has said that death of 146 children was recorded in December 2019 alone. 

Department of Pediatrics of SN Medical College, one of the largest hospitals in the Jodhpur division of Rajasthan, recorded the death of nearly five children every day last month.  This has been revealed in the report prepared by the medical college after the deaths of infants in Kota. 

The medical college runs the pediatric department at Mathura Das Mathur Hospital (MDM) and Umaid Hospital. 

The death toll is high because of the patients from remote areas are not able to reach the hospital on time, the report said. 

In 2019 alone, the total number of death recorded was 754 which averaged nearly 63 children every month. The death toll, however, dramatically increased to 146 in December. Most deaths occurred in the Neonatal Care Unit (NICU) and Pediatric ICU (PICU). 

The total number of children admitted to the Department of Pediatrics in 2019 was 47,815. 5,634 newborns with serious cases were admitted in NICU and PICU, out of which 754 cases (13% of total) resulted in death. 

The new report is expected to add to the outrage over the Kota tragedy where 107 children have died in state-run JK Lon Hospital since December.