In a shocking incident, nine newborn babies died within 24 hours at Murshidabad Medical College Hospital in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.
The tragic incident has sparked public outrage.
According to authorities, the babies were shifted from the SNCU (special newborn care unit) at Jangipur Sub-Divisional Hospital to Murshidabad Medical College due to lack of proper facilities.
The sudden influx of patients put immense strain on the already overloaded medical college, contributing to the unfortunate deaths, they said.
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“Nine children have died in the last 24 hours. We have formed an enquiry committee. Based on a preliminary enquiry, most of the children were found to be malnourished and weighed 300-500 grams. One among them had a severe heart problem from birth. We do not have a facility to treat him here and we did not have the time to take him to the facility to get him treated,” said professor Amit Dan, principal of the Murshidabad Medical College Hospital.
“Another problem is that in PWD, work is going on at Jangipur hospital and all patients there are being referred to us. We have 129 beds and 300 patients. We are trying our best but we are not able to save all children, most of whom suffer from malnutrition and are underweight,” said Dan.
The medical college principal expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and acknowledged the need for a thorough investigation.
A medical board of renowned doctors has been constituted to investigate the incident.
The state health department has also issued a statement assuring that necessary measures will be taken to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
Further investigation is under way. More information is awaited.