Hospital not equipped: AP govt on infant deaths

Hyderabad, Sept 4 (IBNS) A day after Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Ravindra Reddy gave a clean chit to a state run hospital in Kurnool on infant deaths, the government admitted that the hospital is not equipped.

The government said the hospital is not equipped to handle 20 infants at the same time.

"The infrastructure at the hospital needs urgent attention," said District Collector Shivkumar Naik on Sunday.

The government has already allotted more funds and sent new incubators to the hospital.

Andhra Pradesh Health Minister Ravindra Reddy blamed the death of 12 infants in less than two days at a state run hospital on "God's error" and not the negligence of doctors, media reports said on Saturday.

Giving a clean chit to the Kurnool government hospital, Reddy said that the doctors could not be blamed for the deaths, four of which occurred on Wednesday and eight on Thursday, at the hospital around 180 km south of Hyderabad.

A government-appointed team led by Director of Medical Education Sampath Kumar sent to conduct a preliminary inquiry has also exonerated the medical staff there, saying there was no evidence to support a theory of negligence.

Parents, however, allege that the babies dies due to lack of oxygen supply from the ventilators. They also say that hospital authorities took no action even after they brought the problem to their notice.

According to official data, 61 of the 201 infants admitted to the hospital in August had died as had 44 of the 187 infants in July, media reports said.

Union Home Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has reportedly said that this was "not very alarming" as this phenomenon was seen across the country. He assured reporters that the ministry was taking steps to ensure proper facilities are provided at delivery centres.