Power outage ‘a reason’ for infant’s death

SHIMLA: An inquiry report probing the circumstances leading to the death of a five-day-old infant at the neonatal unit of the Kamla Nehru Hospital has found that there was a power outage in the hospital on January 7 and the ventilator support to the baby was being operated manually.

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, January 17

An inquiry report probing the circumstances leading to the death of a five-day-old infant at the neonatal unit of the Kamla Nehru Hospital has found that there was a power outage in the hospital on January 7 and the ventilator support to the baby was being operated manually.

“The baby suffered from multiple critical infections and pulmonary bleeding and had septicemia before he collapsed on a ventilator following power outage in the hospital around 11 pm,” a source said.

Doctors and nurses on duty on January 7 had no torches or searchlights and these were procured in the neonatal unit where 16 babies were under treatment.

“The hospital claimed that they had diesel stock, but the generators could not be operated due to some mechanical fault,” revealed the source.

The hospital’s two generators were not working on that night, it added. Parents and attendants of the premature babies under treatment told The Tribune that it was cold inside the neonatal unit as the central heating system was not working.

“We brought three LPG gas heaters to keep the babies warm,” it added.

“The doctors were puzzled over the deadly infection that caused pulmonary bleeding and septicemia in the baby and the parents of the baby might be asked to undergo some tests to ascertain the exact cause of the death of the baby,” the source revealed.

The Chief Minister had taken cognisance of the report. Principal Secretary, Health, Prabodh Saxena, had appointed Dr Anil Chauhan, Director, Medical Education, as an inquiry officer to probe the death of the baby at the Kamla Nehru Hospital and had asked him to submit the report within a week.

Dr Chauhan said he had finished the inquiry into the case and submitted the report to the government today. “We have addressed the technical part of the power system and the death issue as term of reference of inquiry,” he added.

Saxena said the government had submitted an affidavit in the High Court stating that they were awaiting the inquiry report. “We will examine the inquiry report,” he added.