Guwahati: At least five newborn babies aged between 2-4 days have died in the last 24 hours in the sick newborn care unit of Fakharuddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital in Barpeta, Assam, triggering a public protest in the area.
The incident of deaths of babies prompted the state health minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma to rush a senior health department official and a consultant from the UNICEF on Thursday to inquire into the cause of deaths.
All these five newborns died in the children ward of the medical college and hospital on October 3. At least three of them had low birth weights as per the hospital record.
“They were in sick new born care unit of the hospital and proper medical care were. It is solely the critical nature of the cases that led to death. Two mothers are below the age of 20 years. In fact, Barpeta Medical College and Hospital has been witnessing less infant mortality this year than previous years,” state health minister Dr Sarma said.
“I have talked to the doctors concerned over phone. They have categorically said that these newborn babies could not be saved in spite of their best possible care. We have sent the Director of Medical Education, a consultant from the UNICEF to audit the death,” the minister said.
The minister denied that there was scarcity of doctors in the hospital and clarified, “In respect of child care, we have stable number of doctors in the hospital. In fact, just before two months we opened sick new born care unit and augmented the man power. No doctor from the paediatrics department has resigned to the best of my knowledge. These deaths are related to purely critical nature of the cases like very young age of the mother, low birth weight of child etc.”
The Principal in-charge, Dr Dilip Dutta of the medical college too have denied there was any negligence on part the doctors and the hospital authority in dealing with the cases in question. He said all the cases were critical in nature.
Infant mortality has been on a higher side in Barpeta district that is dominated by religious minority community. The minister informed “Every month Barpeta Medical College and Hospital records average 60 infant deaths. It was more than that before two months back. So average two infant deaths are recorded there every day. Yesterday’s five deaths were more than the average.”