NANDED: Twelve infants died in one day at a hospital in the Indian state of Maharashtra, sparking a political storm on Tuesday with opposition politicians accusing the regional government and hospital authorities of negligence.
The infants died on Sunday and were among 24 deaths recorded that day at the Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in the Nanded district, some 600 km (373 miles) from India's financial capital Mumbai, hospital officials and local media said.
"My brother's one-day old infant died on Sunday at the hospital, and he was the fifth baby to die. We saw four more babies die in front of us," said Yogesh Solanki, whose family brought the baby to the hospital.
Solanki said the neo-natal unit of the hospital, where the infants were being treated, was very crowded on Sunday, with four to five babies in one incubator, which was otherwise designed to hold just one.
The dean of Shankarrao Chavan hospital, Shyamrao Wakode, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on this allegation or opposition accusations of negligence, saying in a brief phone call that he had no time because a government minister was visiting the premises.
Earlier on Tuesday, Wakode told ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake, that the 12 adult patients died of various ailments including diabetes, liver failure and kidney failure.
"There was no shortage of medicines or doctors. Proper care was provided to the patients, but their bodies did not respond to the treatment, which caused deaths," Wakode was quoted by ANI as saying.
The Maharashtra government said on Tuesday it had launched an inquiry into the deaths of the infants and other patients on Sunday.
"Twenty-four is a big number. Why did so many deaths occur in one day? We will investigate if it was because of lack of medicines, or a shortage of staff or some other reason," state minister Girish Mahajan told reporters.
Opposition politicians accused the Maharashtra government, run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party and an ally, of gross negligence over the deaths of the infants.
"The BJP government spends thousands of scores of rupees on its publicity but there is no money for medicines for children?" Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, said in a post on social media platform X.
In Shankarrao Chavan hospital on Tuesday, patients crowded the corridors and pigs roamed the premises outside, underlining the disarray at most government-run hospitals in the world's most populous country.
India's public healthcare system is woefully ill-equipped, plagued by a dearth of staff and equipment. The doctor-to-patient ratio is 0.7 per 1,000, according to the World Health Organisation, which recommends a level of 1 per 1,000.
Sunday's deaths were the second such episode in Maharashtra in as many months. In August, 18 people admitted to a state-run hospital in the Thane region died over a 24-hour period, local media reported. The state government ordered an investigation into the incident at the time.
Reuters
Wed Oct 04 2023
Laxmi Ujvalharangwari holds her one month old child Rudra, after he was diagnosed with pneumonia inside the pediatric ward of the Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded, India. - REUTERS
Penolong pegawai perubatan didenda RM3,000 terima rasuah urus jenazah
Seorang penolong pegawai perubatan di Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Temerloh didenda RM3,000 kerana menerima rasuah berkaitan kerja pengurusan jenazah.
KBS laksana kajian impak penganjuran Sukan SEA 2027
Mesyuarat mengenai perkara itu masih berjalan dengan penglibatan pelbagai pihak bagi mengenal pasti kelebihan dan kekurangan.
19 individu ditahan dipercayai terbabit sindiket pelaburan palsu
Mereka terdiri daripada lapan lelaki dan tujuh wanita tempatan serta empat lelaki warga asing berusia antara 16 hingga 38 tahun.
[TERKINI] Selamatkan Gaza: Dialog dua Perdana Menteri di Mesyuarat Khas WEF Arab Saudi
Tiga PM iaitu PM Palestin, Jordan dan Mesir serta wakil PBB di Gaza duduk sepentas berdialog secara langsung mencari formula menyelamatkan Gaza yang menjadi pusat graviti kepada kestabilan rantau Asia Barat.
OCC: Masih banyak usaha perlu dibuat dalam isu hak kanak-kanak - Azalina
Malaysia masih ketinggalan berbanding negara lain dalam menangani isu penderaan dan masalah sosial melibatkan kanak-kanak.
Piala Asia B-23: Indonesia tekad roboh benteng kebal Uzbekistan
Bintang skuad Garuda Muda, Witan Sulaeman, teruja dengan peluang untuk melakar lebih banyak sejarah ketika membuat persiapan menghadapi aksi separuh akhir PIala Asia B-23 malam ini.
Airbus RACER helikopter terpantas dunia?
Ketika masih dikenali sebagai pesawat eksperimen X3, ia memegang rekod sebagai helikopter terpantas dengan kelajuan mencecah 472 km/j.
AWANI Ringkas: Letupan bom di Thailand | Hadapi dua pertuduhan
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Mesyuarat Khas WEF: Tekanan politik dalaman punca Israel ‘menggila’ - PM Jordan, Mesir
Kedua-dua perdana menteri negara Asia Barat itu setuju serangan ketenteraan di Rafah hanya akan memburukkan keadaan yang sudah sedia meruncing.
Tingkat kawalan di sempadan tangani kemasukan kambing, lembu murah menjelang Aidiladha
KPKM meminta jabatan dan agensi kerajaan berkaitan kawalan sempadan memperhebat penguatkuasaan serta kawalan di pintu masuk negara bagi menangani kemasukan kambing dan lembu murah menjelang Aidiladha.
Sembilan maut dalam insiden letupan di kilang di India
Sekurang-kurangnya sembilan orang terbunuh manakala beberapa lagi cedera dalam insiden letupan membabitkan sebuah kilang bahan letupan di negeri Maharashtra, India pada Ahad.
12 maut bas rempuh lori kontena
Sekurang-kurangnya 12 orang terbunuh, manakala 23 lagi cedera selepas sebuah bas mini merempuh lori kontena di Maharashtra, barat India pada Ahad, lapor Xinhua.
17 terbunuh dihempap kren di tapak pembinaan
Insiden berlaku berhampiran Shahapur di daerah Thane, kira-kira 71 kilometer (km) ke timur laut Mumbai.
4 maut ditembak anggota polis dalam tren di India
Antara yang maut ialah seorang anggota RPF, seorang pekerja pantri kereta api dan dua penumpang.
Angka kematian meningkat 16, lebih 100 masih hilang tanah runtuh timbus kampung
Angka kematian meningkat kepada 16 orang manakala lebih 100 dilaporkan masih terperangkap dalam kejadian tanah runtuh besar di Maharashtra, India.
Mumbai dibadai siklon Biparjoy, operasi penerbangan terjejas
Siklon Biparjoy yang mencetuskan hujan lebat dan angin kencang itu membadai Mumbai apabila melintas di kawasan timur-tengah dan bersebelahan timur laut Laut Arab.
11 maut, lebih 40 dimasukkan ke hospital akibat strok haba di India
Sekurang-kurangnya 11 orang maut manakala lebih 40 lagi dimasukkan ke hospital akibat strok haba selepas menghadiri majlis anugerah anjuran kerajaan tempatan di Maharashtra, barat India.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
India catat 268,833 kes COVID-19 baharu, meningkat kepada 36,850,962
Angka COVID-19 India meningkat kepada 36,850,962 pada Sabtu apabila mencatatkan 268,833 kes baharu dalam tempoh 24 jam lalu, menurut data terkini kementerian kesihatan India.
COVID-19: Ibu bapa pelajar di India gembira sekolah dibuka
Sejak Isnin, pelajar sekolah rendah di bandar Maharashtra kembali ke bilik darjah untuk kali pertama sejak Mac lalu.