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No timeline yet for Lucknow rehab centre deaths probe
Probe committee in the process of finalising report...they will submit it to the government department concerned, says district magistrate
LUCKNOW Even 10 days after the first in the series of hospitalisations and deaths at the Nirvana Rajkiya Bal Grih Visheshikrit came to fore, district authorities said there is still no timeline to suggest when the investigation will be completed with “conclusive results”. With water culture tests done and results of food samples awaited, questions over what led to the deaths of five children following symptoms of diarrhoea and dehydration linger on.
The children had died at three different hospitals, raising concerns about the hygiene and sanitation at the facility. After the incident, 20 children were being treated across three government hospitals in the city - 16 at Lok Bandhu Hospital, three at Balrampur Hospital and one at KGMU.
“The probe committee is in the process of finalising the report. They will submit it to the government department concerned. Prior to that, disclosing any fact to the press will not be appropriate on the part of investigation,” said district magistrate Vishak G.
“This is not a time-bound investigation, and a certain deadline has not been set for the same. But the work of the probe is underway,” he added.
“The water quality and culture test results were negative. As there was such a health crisis, something may be wrong with something they consumed... we will see the results from the FSDA (Food Safety and Drug Administration),” informed the chief medical officer of Lucknow, Dr NB Singh. He shared that the food sample tests are not reportable as the process is not complete.
On the five children’s viscera reports that were awaited, the CMO said: “The final reports of the post-mortem examination are not with us yet. As soon as there is an update in the investigation, it will be shared.”
With investigations having started almost a week ago, district authorities have so far only been able to rule out certain possible causes of illness/death. According to them, the cause for the sudden outbreak of illness and deaths is yet to be ascertained.
Over the past three days, the health care facilities began discharging the children and sending them back to the shelter home. As of now, three children remain at Lok Bandhu Hospital, said medical superintendent Dr AS Tripathi.
He said, “Doctors want to ascertain whether or not the children are responding well to the antibiotics administered to them. The rest were discharged in groups of four and five over the past two days. These three will also be discharged in three days or so.”
One child, who is prone to epileptic fits, remains in the ICU at Balrampur Hospital, shared Dr Sanjay Teotia, director. And the one at KGMU is likely to be released by Wednesday, informed KGMU media cell head, Dr KK Singh.
The district probation officer was not available for a statement on the current status of the investigation. He has been engaged in the inspections of the various shelters across the city, checking for sanitation and hygiene conditions, on the orders of the DM, his office informed.
