Telangana Health Minister C. Laxma Reddy said that a three-member committee will inquire into the recent deaths of women following caesarian surgeries in Niloufer Hospital and submit a report in three days.
The government is also contemplating appointing a separate committee headed by the district Collector for a thorough evaluation of conditions in the hospital, he said.
The government took a serious view of five deaths in one month. Over 500 women had delivered in the hospital in January. Once the three-member committee comprising a senior anaesthetist and two senior gynaecologists gave its report, action would be initiated against those responsible for any lapses, he said.
Addressing media persons here on Tuesday, Dr. Laxma Reddy, however, said that it was not proper to level sweeping allegations against all government hospitals. More so, when the government had been upgrading facilities in the public health care institutions from Primary Health Centre to Community Health Centre. Such baseless reports would undermine the faith of the poor coming to government hospitals, he said.
“Thanks to the government efforts, confidence of the public in government hospitals improved. It showed in the 20 per cent increase in the number of patients to government hospitals,” he said.
Referring to the death of Pravalika in Gandhi Hospital, the Health Minister did not agree that the hospital was at fault. The girl had been suffering from a neuro-degenerative disease before being admitted to the hospital and her parents were aware of her serious condition as doctors who treated her in Bangalore explained it to them. It was a case of natural death, he said.
It was not fair to attribute her death to the use of contaminated saline bottle. The girl’s father had taken the saline bottle out and brought it back to the hospital after two hours. He also termed reports that some patients in Osmania General Hospital died due to shortage of oxygen cylinders as false.
About 750 PHCs in the State would be upgraded in all aspects with labs, medical equipment, hygiene and ambience in three months. In addition, 25 new PHCs would be set up in the State. On filling vacancies, he said the government cleared 2,118 posts including doctors, staff nurses and they would be filled through department level recruitment.
Intensive Care Units were set up in centres in Karimnagar, Mahabubnagar and Siddipet and would be set up in 17 more health centres. Forty dialysis centres were also being set up in the State, he said.
