After 10 Newborns Die in Kota Hospital in 48 Hours, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Dispatches Probe Team

Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday said that a team has been sent to Kota to look into the deaths of 10 kids in JK Lon Hospital. He said strict action will be taken against those found guilty.

Gehlot has given instructions to medical education secretary Vaibhav Galeria to visit Kota and submit a detailed report on an urgent basis.

"The chief minister has taken this issue very seriously and hence, I am here to find out the reason of neonatal deaths. A special committee will probe into the reasons to see if there were hygienic or clinical issues behind the death of these kids. Besides, all other issues will also be touched upon," Galeria said after visiting Kota.

On being asked if there was a staff crisis hitting the hospital, he said: "Crisis has in fact been here but I cannot comment upfront without complete investigation. We are trying to figure out the lacunae present here and also trying to find solutions to them."

In a series of tweets, Kota MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said, "The untimely death of 10 newborns in 48 hours at a maternal and child hospital in Kota, is a matter of concern. Rajasthan government should take immediate action in this matter with empathy."

Birla also claimed, in a letter to Gehlot, that 800 to 900 infants and 200 to 250 kids died every year in "this major hospital" due to lack of qualified personnel and non-functioning of life-saving equipment.

"The inquiry committee has been formed. The cause of deaths is yet to be examined. All the issues, relating to cleanliness, facilities, medical equipment, will be looked into," the state's Health Education Secretary, Vaibhav Galriya,

Sources said that of 535 life-saving equipment, 320 were not functional. Besides, only 27 out of 71 infant warmers were working. Some ventilators were also not working properly. The hospital administration is, however, trying to hide all these facts, according to sources.

Sources at the CMO confirmed that Gehlot is taking the case seriously and is himself monitoring the investigations. Additional principal SMS college Dr. Amarjeet Mehta, senior paediatrician also visited Kota, along with Galeria.

Seventy seven children have died in December while 10 kids died on Monday and Tuesday. Hospital sources said that all the children were brought in a critical condition to the hospital.

"Our investigation says that 10 deaths were normal and children did not die because of any negligence, said Dr H.L. Meena, hospital superintendent.

Similarly, head of the department (paediatrics) Amrit Lal Bairwa said, according to national NICU records, 20 per cent deaths of infants are acceptable while 10-15 per cent deaths have been reported in Kota which is not at all alarming.

The children were admitted in a serious condition, he added.

(With inputs from PTI and ANI)