A hospital in West Bengal’s Purulia district, 296 km from Kolkata, reported 11 infant deaths between Friday and Saturday.
“The children who died were brought to the hospital in a very critical condition. The doctors did their best,” said Nilanjana Sen, the hospital super.
“The extension work of the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) is on and when it is completed children will get better treatment, the mortality rate will also come down,” she added.
Locals and relatives of the dead children, however, blamed the deaths on the poor infrastructure and lack of doctors at the Special Newborn Care Unit.
A senior doctor with the hospital, who did not want to be named, admitted there was a shortage of doctors in the paediatric unit.
He also said that a detailed report on the deaths had been sent to concerned authorities with a request to arrange for more doctors.