Nine infants have died at the Malda Medical College and Hospital since Wednesday evening, prompting the district administration to set up a committee to investigate the reasons for the deaths.
“We have set up a committee under the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Malda, to look into the cause of the deaths. It will submit a report to the Health Department,” District Magistrate of Malda G. Kiran Kumar told The Hindu on Thursday.
Uchhal Bhadra, principal of the Malda Medical College and Hospital, said the reason for the deaths of all but one infant was low birth weight and premature birth.
Deaths of many infants have been reported from the hospital on several occasions in the past. Though the hospital was upgraded in to a medical college and hospital in 2011, questions have been raised about its infrastructure.
Authorities of the hospital, which is equipped with a sick newborn care unit (SNCU), said the number of cases being referred from districts to the hospital was higher than what it could accommodate.