Shocking facts about Kota hospital you didn’t know
The New Year in India, on Wednesday, arrived with the sad news of nine more deaths of infants at the government-run JK Lon Hospital in Kota, Rajasthan.
There is again a fresh report of two more kids dying at the hospital today.
With the death toll now totalling 102, the central and the state government have sprung into action.
Union health minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan spoke to Rajasthan chief minister today on Kota child deaths and assured him all support.
Also, central multidisciplinary experts team is all set to reach Kota tomorrow, to assist state government in controlling the menace.
Meanwhile, a team of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), as per media reports, visited the hospital to investigate the deaths.
Shocking facts:
1. The team was shocked to find that the windows and gates were broken at the hospital.
2. The team also saw pigs roaming inside the campus and there was an acute shortage of staff.
3. This is not an isolated incident at this hospital. As per a tweet by Ashok Gehlot, “Government cites figures to say child casualties in JK Lon Hospital in Kota have reduced to 963 this year from 1260 in 2015 and 1193 in 2016 when the state was ruled by BJP. In 2018, 1005 children lost their lives here”.
4. A media report citing data shows 70 per cent of the radiant warmers were not functional and bed-nurse ratio was 13:1 against the standard of 4:1.
5. The report also found absence of oxygen pipeline in the special newborn care unit.
6. The state government too says there are infrastructure challenges at the government-run hospital.
7. On December 27, the team led by the state’s Medical Education Secretary found lapses in the incubation unit of the neonatal unit. The units were not working properly, and the hospital placed two infants into one incubator due to the shortage.
It, however, denies any laxity on the part of the government machinery.
8. Over 1,000 children have died every year in the hospital in the past 6 years.
Source: media reports