Hospitals deny deaths due to lack of medicare

At least 17 patients, including five new-born babies died allegedly due to lack of medical attention at the government-run hospitals in the city from Friday night after junior doctors boycotted emergency services.

While six deaths each were reported at Gandhi and Osmania General Hospitals, five took place at Niloufer Hospital.

Senior doctors, however, denied that deaths were due to lack of medical aid.

Hospital authorities denied any rise in death rate and declined to link the deaths to the ongoing junior doctors' strike. “The death rate at these hospitals ranges between 10 and 12 every day,” asserted the Superintendents of the Gandhi and Osmania Hospitals, Shaik Mehboob and K. Ramdas, respectively.

They said several measures were initiated to check disruption of any services in view of the strike at emergency and casualty wings. Doctors from other departments, assistant professors and para-medical staff were roped in to help the patients. “We are leaving no stone unturned in providing medical services to patients,” they explained.

Niloufer hospital doctors cited under-weight as the reason for the death of five new-born babies. “We cannot attribute these incidents to inadequate staff due to strike. It's a referral hospital and many children were shifted to this hospital under serious conditions,” said Niloufer Hospital Superintendent Dr. D. Ranganath.

Patients at the government hospitals continue to suffer a lot even as the Government claimed that adequate measures were taken for ensuring medical aid. At Osmania General Hospital, only one doctor was present at the casualty ward in the afternoon to assist patients.

On coming to know about non-availability of doctors, attendants of some patients who came there for treatment left the premises abruptly. As it was weekend, the flow of patients was also relatively less at these hospitals. Additional police pickets were posted on these premises to prevent any untoward incidents.