U.T. Khader, Health and Family Welfare Minister, flew down to Hyderabad and travelled overnight by road from Hyderabad to Kalaburagi to visit the newborns who survived a fire incident at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NIUC) of the Government General Hospital here on Wednesday. They were admitted in three private hospitals in the early hours of Thursday.
Mr. Khader, who arrived here at 1.45 a.m. from Hyderabad, straight away drove to the Basaveshwar Teaching and General Hospital, where six of the rescued newborns are undergoing treatment in the NIUC. He later visited Sangameshwar Women and Children’s Hospital where another six children are admitted and KBN General Hospital which is caring for the remaining 14 children.
During the visit, the Minister, accompanied by Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister in-charge of Health and Family Welfare Departments Umesh Jadav, Deputy Commissioner Vipul Bansal, District Surgeon Nalini Namoshi and District Health and Family Officer Mohammad Zakir Ansari spoke to the doctors attending on the newborns and asked them to provide the best of the treatment facilities to the children.
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The Minister also visited the fire-ravaged NIUC in the Government General Hospital and closely inspected the damaged air conditioner and the damage suffered by the state-of-the-art medical equipment installed in the NIUC. He also visited nurse Fakirappa Doddamani who suffered injuries while breaking open windowpanes in the NIUC to allow smoke to escape and saved the lives of the newborns.
Mr. Khader said that the entire expenditure of the treatment of the newborns admitted in the private hospitals would be borne by the State government and paid rich compliments to Fakirappa Doddamani and two others, nurse Umesh Pyati and Lab Attendant M.P. Umesh, who were primarily responsible for saving the lives of the newborns by breaking open the windowpanes to allow smoke to escape from the airtight air conditioned NIUC which was engulfed by fire.
He said that this was the first-ever such incident taking place in a government hospital and a detailed inquiry has been launched. Mr. Vipul Bansal has been asked to investigate and submit a report within three days to take action against culprits responsible for the incident.
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Ruling out negligence as one of the reasons for the accident, the Minister said that short circuit was suspected to be the reason. However, the investigation will cover all aspects and none will be spared. The hospital authorities have been asked to submit detailed estimates immediately for taking up repairs to the unit and re-open it at the earliest.
He later left for Bengaluru.