9 more infant deaths in Kota hospital, December toll rises to 100

At least nine more infants have died in the last two days of December at the JK Lon hospital here, taking the death toll to 100 for the month of December, officials said on Wednesday (January 2).

The death of 10 children at the government-run hospital during a 48-hour period on December 23 and 24 had triggered criticism from the opposition and a visit by a team from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).

Hospital superintendent Dr Suresh Dulara said that four children died on December 30 while five on December 31, all mainly due to low birth weight. The nursing in-charge of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, which specialises in looking after premature and sick newborns, has been replaced, Dr Dulara said.

Hospital authorities, however, said that the number of deaths reported at the health facility in 2019 has witnessed a decline since 2014 when 1,198 children died.

Efforts for the upgradation and maintenance of equipment at the hospital have been put in place, following directions by the Congress government in the state.

Also read: 12 infants die in 1 week at govt hospital in Kota

Medical College Principal Dr Vijay Sardana said that an order has been issued for the installation of a central oxygen supply line at the hospital. The work would be completed within the next 15 days.

The direction was issued a day after a BJP parliamentary team comprising of MPs Locket Chatterjee, Kanta Kardam and Jaskaur Meena visited the hospital and expressed concern over its infrastructure. The panel had said that two to three children were found on single beds and that the hospital did not have enough nurses.

Dr Sardana said the pediatric department at the health facility has been reconstructed, with its three units being functional in Jay Kay Lon hospital and a non-teaching unit working in New Medical College premises.

He said proposals for a new OPD and emergency wards for pediatric and gynaecology departments have been incorporated in the proposed OPD Block under the Smart City Project.

Earlier, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had served a show-cause notice to the state government. “Pigs were found roaming inside the campus of the hospital,” its chairperson Priyank Kanoongo had said.

However, a Rajasthan government committee ruled that the infants were given the right treatment.