12 babies among 24 dead at Nanded hospital

Nanded, October 2

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In a shocking development, at least 24 persons, including 12 infants, have died in the past 24 hours at Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College & Hospital in Nanded, Maharashtra, triggering strong reactions from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Monday.

According to officials, among the dead were at least 12 infants, aged between 2 and 4 days, while the remaining were adults. Though the hospital authorities were evasive on the large number of fatalities in such a short time, the opposition parties attacked the Eknath Shinde government, demanding the resignation of Health Minister Tanaji Sawant.

Hospital dean S Wakode told mediapersons that six male and six female babies succumbed due to various reasons, while another 12 adults died, mostly from snake-bites. He claimed that many patients came from far-off places and the hospital faced issues of procuring right medicines for them in time amid budgeting constraints, and other issues.

Ex-CM and senior Congress leader from Nanded Ashok Chavan said besides these deaths, another 70 patients, referred from other private hospitals in the district, were reported to be ‘serious’. “I spoke with the hospital dean who said there was a shortage of nursing and medical staff, certain equipment were not working and certain departments were not operational for various reasons. This is a grave issue,” said Chavan.