Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday ordered a special inquiry into the deaths of six newborns at Ludhiana’s Civil Hospital in the last two days at the maternity ward inaugurated recently. A doctor has been suspended.
A three-member committee comprising Principal Secretary for Health, Vikas Garg; Director of Health Services, Jatinder Kaur and Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana Rajat Aggarwal have been deputed to inquire into the circumstances that led to the death of five newborns on Sunday and one on Monday. As many as 19 newborns have died since the facility was recently upgraded and inaugurated.
State Health Minister Surjit Jyani, who visited the hospital to meet the bereaved families, has assured strict action against those found negligent in duty. Gynaecologist Alka Mittal was placed under suspension as initial reports indicated that she was not present when the babies were delivered by staff nurses. The bereaved families have alleged gross negligence on the part of the hospital.
Mr. Garg and Dr. Kaur told reporters that of the five casualties on Sunday, three were cases of intrauterine death and two due to serious complications.
Dr. Mittal said that she was yet to receive any communication regarding her suspension. She said that one baby had died after it defecated inside the womb and another was a case of delivery in the seventh month.
In another case, staff could not detect the baby’s heartbeat. She said that records were available that the family of the fourth woman did not give permission for a C-section and that the baby died as the hospital attempted a normal delivery.
