Nanded govt hospital sees 24 deaths in 24 hours, including newborns

24 patients, including 12 infants, died in the last 24 hours at a hospital in Maharashtra, India due to inadequate facilities and staff shortages.

MUMBAI: In the second such incident in the last two months in Maharashtra, 24 patients admitted to the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College hospital in Nanded have died in the last 24 hours. Twelve of them were infants. According to officials, inadequate facilities and a shortage of staff and medicines led to the deaths.

Nanded govt hospital sees 24 deaths in 24 hours, including newborns

Medical education minister Hasan Mushrif on Monday announced the setting up of an inquiry committee to probe the incident. “I have asked the commissioner of medical education to leave immediately for Nanded,” he said. “I am also going there tomorrow. Only after we reach there and review the incident will the cause of the deaths be clear.” This is the second such incident in Maharashtra after the Thane government hospital deaths in the second week of August where 18 patients died in 24 hours.

Acting dean of the hospital Dr S R Wakode, while speaking to the media, claimed that many of the 12 adult patients were in a precarious condition when they were admitted. “They were from the remote areas of the district and came here in a serious condition,” he said. Late on Monday night, the hospital superintendent issued a statement, which said that of the 12, four were suffering from heart disease, two from kidney disease and one from liver disease. One had fallen victim to snakebite, one woman had delivery complications and three were injured in accidents. Of the 12 newborns, four were admitted in a serious condition from other hospitals.

Santosh Pandagale, a member of the governing council of the medical college and hospital, said that the hospital was facing various problems like insufficient staff, a shortage of medicines and issues related to other facilities. “This hospital has a capacity of 500 beds but has 1,200 patients,” he said. “Many machines like the CT scanner are not working because there are no funds for annual maintenance contracts. Several nurses and doctors have been transferred from here but those posts are still vacant. There is a shortage of medicines too. We have raised these issues with the authorities but to no avail.”

Former CM and local Congress MLA Ashok Chavan visited the hospital after the deaths to review the situation. “This is extremely unfortunate,” he said. “Government medical colleges are in a serious crisis. Inadequate staff and shortage of medicines are responsible for the condition of this hospital.” Chavan added that when he discussed these issues with the dean, he was told that besides the 24 deaths in the last 24 hours, around 70 patients were in a serious condition. “Some of them have been referred to private hospitals,” he said, indicating that the death toll could rise.

Opposition leaders promptly slammed the government. “Allegedly the patients did not get medicines on time,” said NCP MP Supriya Sule. “Does this mean that the lives of the people of Maharashtra have become so cheap? This is a case of delay and neglect, and strict action is required.”

The Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Ambadas Danve rued that the government and government machinery had not learned anything from the Thane tragedy. “The 12 newborns who lost their lives were victims of government apathy,” he said.