15 newborns die at Jorhat Medical College in Assam in six days, probe ordered

At least 15 infants have died at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital (JMCH) in Assam in less than a week, officials said on Friday. Taking cognisance of the matter, the state health department rushed a team to investigate the matter.

The 15 newborns who died between November 1 and 6 were admitted at the special care newborn unit of the hospital, JMCH Superintendent Saurav Borkakoti said, adding that the deaths were not due to medical negligence.

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“Sometimes the number of patients coming to the hospital may be large and so the figure of death of newborns may also be large. It depends in what situation the patients have come to the hospital. They may have come with prolonged labour, with low birth weight. In such circumstances, those newborns may die,” PTI quoted Borkakoti as saying.

Borkakoti also said that the JMCH Hospital has also formed a six-member committee to look into the matter. He said that after the civil hospital was converted into a full-fledged medical college and hospital, the number of patients has gone up, exceeding the available 141-bed SNCU capacity.

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Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters that the health department has sent a team of experts to investigate the deaths. The team that will probe the matter included doctors from Gauhati Medical College and Hospital and Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh.

The director of medical education assisted by UNICEF is also the part of the team probing the matter, Biswa Sarma said.

(With inputs from agencies)