Probe begins into infant’s death

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, December 16

After a newborn baby died yesterday at the Zonal Hospital, Mandi, the government has initiated an inquiry into the matter.

The affected family has alleged that the mother and the child were made to lie down on the floor and the child became sick. And despite the child being sick, they were discharged from the hospital. On the other hand, the hospital authorities claimed that the woman and the newborn baby were already discharged from the hospital and the baby died the next day. After losing the child, the affected family was accusing the health authorities of being callous and trying to hush up the matter.

Dr Mahant, Medical Superintendent of the Zonal Hospital, Mandi, said the mother and infant were discharged from the hospital on December 14 and the condition of child deteriorated at home. The next day, the family came with the child to the hospital, but it was too late. He added that due to lack of gynaecologists in Kullu and Sundernagar hospitals, the number of delivery cases in the Mandi hospital had gone up.

Health Minister Kaul Singh Thakur said, “I have initiated an inquiry into the matter to fix the responsibility and action will be taken accordingly.” He added that it was because of the election code of conduct, which barred the government from transferring employees, otherwise the doctors could be posted to Kullu and Sundernagar to manage the situation.

After the incident, the health authorities have swung into action and provided extra beds in the hospital to accommodate expectant mothers, who were found resting on the floor due to shortage of beds in the gynaecology ward. For the past two months, the Zonal Hospital, Kullu, which provides healthcare facilities to residents of Lahaul-Spiti, Kullu and a parts of the Mandi area, and the Civil Hospital, Sundernagar, did not have gynaecologists, which increased the number of delivery cases referred to the Mandi Zonal Hospital.

The Zonal Hospital at Mandi was attached with Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College at Nerchowk to facilitate the people of the region with better medical facility.

In the past two days, the number of expectant mothers went up to 156 against 40 beds available on the hospital premises. The hospital authorities failed to provide extra beds to accommodate delivery cases and neonatal patients. As a result, many were forced to rest on the floor in the bone-chilling cold.