Rajasthan Hospital Horror Continues, 110 Infants Die In Kota, Bikaner Reports 162 Deaths

The disturbing trend of infant deaths in Rajasthan hospitals continue. On Sunday, the death count in Kota rose to 110. News Nation has also learnt that the medical apathy is not limited to one city only. The situation is worse in areas such as Jodhpur and Bikaner. In Bikaner, 162 infant deaths were reported in December last year. The government report has exposed the poor state of affairs at the JK Lon hospital in Kota. The report said that infants died due to hypothermia, a medical emergency that occurs when the body temperature falls below 95 F (35 C). The normal body temperature is 98.6 F (37 C). The report further said that 22 nebulisers out of 28 were dysfunctional and 81 infusion pumps out of 111 were not working. 

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken cognizance of the incident and issued a notice to the state government. The notice has been issued to the Rajasthan Chief Secretary. The notice asked the state to submit a detailed report within four weeks and also mention the steps being taken to address the issue.

The NHRC has asked the state government to ensure that no such deaths occur in the future. The statement noted that ten out of a hundred children died within 48 hours between December 23 and 24, 2019.

The commission has issued notice to the chief secretary of the state, seeking a detailed report within four weeks, including on the steps being taken to address the issue and to ensure that in future children do not die due to lack of infrastructure and health facilities at the hospitals, it said.

On Saturday, Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot visited Kota. The visit came after interim Congress chief Sonia Gandhi told Pilot to go to Kota and submit a report to her. “I think our response to this could have been more compassionate and sensitive. After being in power for 13 months I think it serves no purpose to blame the previous government’s misdeeds. Accountability should be fixed,” Pilot was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.