11 child deaths in Malda

11 child deaths in Malda

6 April 2012

statesman news service
MALDA, 6 APRIL: At least 11 children died in Malda Medical College and Hospital in last 36 hours. 
State health department spokesman Asit Biswas confirmed the deaths of nine children in a 24-hour period and 15 children over the past seven days. But those figures aren't what the department is focused on, he said.
“We’re not concerned with the number of deaths,” Mr Biswas said. "Our concern is to see how many crib deaths can be prevented.”
Mr Biswas said a task-force has been formed and “the MMCH authorities have been asked to record the details of the sick babies on the bed tickets.”
Asked about the normal average number of crib deaths in Malda, Mr Biswas said that “generally 33 newborns out of each 1,000 die, but the situation in Malda is different.”
“MMCH bears the pressure of the patients not only from neighbouring districts, but also of the sick children referred from neighbouring states like Bihar and Jharkhand,” he said.
Malda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH) sources say nine babies died there up until yesterday afternoon. The particulars of those children couldn’t be obtained from hospital authorities, but eight of them were referred to MMCH, seven of were suffering from asphyxia, and two had very low weights.
Two more children died this morning.
Five-month-old Romit Sheikh, of Babupur village under English Bazaar block, was brought to MMCH by his parents ~ Mrs Amina Bibi and Mr Abdul Kalam Azad ~ with breathing trouble. Mr Ekramul Hoque, Romit’s grandfather, alleged that the child died soon after a nurse had given him an injection, and that no doctor attended the sick baby.
Five-day-old Juthika Pramanik, of Raipur village in the Mojampur area of Kaliachak block, was also brought in suffering from asphyxia and died. 
MMCH principal Debasis Bhattacharyya has been transferred to Sagar Dutta Medical College and Hospital at Kamarhati. Dr Uchchhwal Bhadra, of NRS Medical College and Hospital, a professor of community medicine, has taken over as the new principal.