After the death of 47 infants in various government hospitals in last 10 days, the state health department has come under severe criticism from various corners. But the chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who also holds the health portfolio, is yet to make any comment in public on it. Ignoring the demand raised by the opposition to appoint a full time minister in charge of the health department, Mamata Banerjee is bent upon continuing with the present arrangement. On Thursday, while expressing concern on the rising death toll of infants in government hospitals, she made it clear in her close circle that despite all these criticisms, she would continue to keep the health portfolio with her.
But a fresh incident in Lalbagh sub divisional hospital has put the health department on the back foot. At Lalbagh hospital’s labour room, instead of giving a woman a wash with disinfectant, the careless staffs applied acid to her causing severe burn on her body. A three member committee submitted a report to the Director of Health Services, mentioning about the chemical burn on that hapless woman. Already the nurse concerned has been put on suspension and 10 more including one doctor have been served with show cause notice.
Tomorrow Sanjay Mitra, the health secretary, has convened a high level meeting in Kolkata to discuss the infants’ death issue.
The tragedy of infants’ death has brought back the focus on the much neglected aspect of the health care system in the state. B C Roy Hospital, the largest referral hospital for infants and children in the state, where 17 infants died in the last 10 days, has been in the centre of controversy in the past too. Despite repeated assurances given by the chief minister of equipping it with modern facilities, its infrastructure remained awfully poor. Even basic amenities like blood bank, CT scan and ambulance equipped with life saving devices are not there.
The situation at Burdwan Medical College Hospital, where 21 infants died in the same period, is no better. Mamata, in her initial days in power, made some surprise visit to some of the state run hospitals in Kolkata and assured to deliver better health services to the poor and not so poor people of the state. But, after the spurt of infant deaths in hospitals she is maintaining silence.
Hospital authorities, meanwhile, maintain that there is "nothing abnormal" or "unusual" in the deaths because the babies, they claim, were brought in an "extremely critical" condition. The parents differ.
