Mumbai:

Demanding an impartial CBI probe into the spate of deaths in government hospitals across Maharashtra, former Chief Minister and UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday asked the government who is responsible for the Nanded deaths and where the Chief Minister is in this difficult time.

“This government has no moral right as they have money to spend on advertisements but no funds to save people’s lives. Who is responsible? Where is CM at this difficult time? It was the responsibility of CM and Deputy CM to go and find out the reason for this,” he added,” Uddhav Thackeray said while addressing a press conference in Mumbai.

Following the hearing on the recent deaths of patients at a government hospital in Nanded, Mr Thackeray said that until and unless the court teaches them lessons, they won’t realise.

“Until and unless the court teaches them lessons they won’t realise, in the past also court has made an observation and slammed the government, what about the task force we have formed to take than the Covid-19 pandemic, why aren’t this government taking help of this tasks force, Uddhav suggested the government,” he said.

The Bombay High Court has asked the Maharashtra government to file an affidavit on the steps taken to fill vacancies in government hospitals in the last six months.

The court has also asked the state government to mention the demand and supplies of medicines to the government hospitals in the last six months.

He further slammed Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over his Delhi visit and said “People here in the state are dying and the Chief minister is in Delhi attending some Naxal-related meetings but I want to say if it continues then many more people will lose their lives than people die during naxal attack.”

Comparing his government tenure work with the Shinde government, he said that during COVID-19, the same doctors, deans, nurses, and ward boys were there and served the patients by risking their lives.

“As per my knowledge, Maharashtra was the only state where medicines were delivered through drones in remote regions… Since the last few days, news has been coming from Thane, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Nagpur, and Nanded, and news is still coming from some places that there is a shortage of medicine,” he added.

At least 31 people died in the government-run Dr Shankarrao Chavan Medical College and Hospital Nanded, reportedly due to an alleged scarcity of medicines.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Nanded:

Pigs roamed as relatives of patients went about their chores – some brushing their teeth, some washing utensils. The scene was from the hospital in central Maharashtra where 31 patients had died in a span of 48 hours.

Hygiene was among the issues raised in the aftermath of the Nanded hospital horror, a glimpse of which was captured on Wednesday.

Plastic bottles and wrappers clogged the drains as the pigs roamed through garbage at Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital.

“This is how it is every day,” said a woman as she stopped cleaning a vessel.

Another said, “We can’t use the toilet. We get nothing here, we have to go out for everything.”

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

A total of 65 patients were being treated at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Maharashtra government’s facility in Nanded against the sanctioned strength of 24 beds when 11 infants died at the NICU between Sep 30 and October 1, a senior doctor said on Tuesday.

As many as 24 deaths, including of 12 infants, occurred at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded in 24 hours between September 30 and October 1, state health department officials had said.

A senior doctor at the facility told PTI on Tuesday that the number of admissions in the NICU was 65 against the sanctioned strength of 24 beds when 11 infants died. Another infant died in the Paediatrics Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Dr Kishor Rathod, who heads the Paediatrics department at the Nanded facility, denied that the shortage of medicine was the likely cause behind the deaths of the infant patients.

“Out of the eleven deaths that occurred in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), eight (infants) were referrals who were shifted here at a very critical stage. They weighed below 1,000 grams,” he added.

He said another ward- the Paediatrics Intensive Care Unit (PICU)- at this facility has a capacity of 31 beds but we were treating 32 patients.

Dr Rathod further said the Nanded facility had recorded some last-minute referrals (on September 30 and October 1) but no patient was denied admission.

“Considering both the wards, a total of 156 children were admitted of which 96 were in the PICU and NICU together when the deaths occurred,” Dr Rathod said.

He said at least 90 beds are needed only for the general ward even though the number of admissions is much more.

Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital Dean Dr S R Wakode had told reporters that the 12 infants, who died, comprised six males and six females. Most of them were in the 0-3 day age group and had “very low weight”.

A three-member expert committee from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district has been formed with a mandate to submit a report on Tuesday, an official said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Eight people, including two newborns, have died in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad district in the last 24 hours. This is the second hospital tragedy to strike Maharashtra as 31 deaths in the last 48 hours at a government facility in Nanded district have been making headlines.

Twelve patients died at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the last 24 hours, officials said. Out of the 18 deaths, four were brought dead, he added. Two pre-term babies are also among those dead. “They weighed only 1,300 grams each,” the official said.

Dean of the hospital Sanjay Rathod, however, downplayed the incident, saying “There is no major disparity between the number of deaths and the total number of admissions”.

“Around 200 patients, including serious cases, are admitted to the hospital every day. Given their critical condition, there is no major disparity,” he said.

The relatives of the patients have blamed the poor facility, including the shortage of medicines, at the hospital for the incident.

The dean rubbished the claims and said the facility was not running short on life-saving drugs.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Minister of Medical Education Hasan Mushrif today said a thorough investigation will be conducted into Nanded hospital where 31 patients, including 12 newborns, lost their lives.

“We will carry out a thorough investigation. I have briefed Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis regarding the same. I will visit the hospital and a committee of doctors will be formed,” Mr Mushrif said.

Maharashtra has more than 20 government medical colleges and several blame recent transfers of staff for the dilapidated infrastructure at these facilities.

Nearly 350 doctors were transferred between the months of July and August. This when the facilities already have a shortage of about 1,200 doctors.

Recently, resident doctors held a protest as they were not able to get training due to the shortage of senior doctors and professors.

Several health experts have also said that many government hospitals are facing a sudden shortage of medicines. The procurement of medicines through Haffkine Biopharmaceutical has been affected for some time.

Mumbai:

Seven more patients, four of them children, died late last night at the government hospital in Maharashtra’s Nanded that made national headlines yesterday following 24 deaths in 24 hours. This takes the death count in the Shankarrao Chavan Government Hospital in the past 48 hours to 31. Among these 31 patients, 16 were infants or children.

The condition of as many as 71 patients at the hospital is still critical, it is learnt.

Dr Shyamrao Wakode, the dean of the hospital, has rejected allegations of medical negligence. He has also said that there was no shortage of medicines or doctors, and stressed that the patients did not respond to treatment despite being given proper care.

Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif is on his way to Nanded. Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, “I am on my way to Nanded. This should not have happened. There was no shortage of medicines or doctors. We will investigate every death, and anyone found negligent will be punished.”

A senior Maharashtra government official has said a committee has been formed to probe the deaths. “A three-member expert committee from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district has been formed with a mandate to submit a report. I am personally visiting the hospital to review the situation,” Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, Director, Medical Education and Research, told news agency PTI yesterday.

The deaths in the government hospital have triggered a sharp attack by the Opposition on the Eknath Shinde-led government in the state.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has sought a detailed probe, saying the incident was “extremely painful, serious and worrying”. Mr Kharge also referred to a similar incident at a government hospital in Thane in August, when 18 patients died within a short interval.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi targeted the BJP, part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra. “The BJP government spends thousands of crores on publicity, but there is no money to buy medicines of children?” he asked in a post on X.

Maharashtra Congress leader and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has said the Eknath Shinde government should take up the matter and provide immediate help to the Nanded hospital.

Addressing the media yesterday, the hospital’s dean had said the 12 newborns who died in the hospital on September 30-October 1 were in the 0-3 days age group and had “very low weight”.

“There are 142 admissions in the paediatric department, of which 42 are still critical. Oxygen and ventilator facilities are there. The patients are from neighbouring districts, including Hingoli, Parbhani and Washim. Some are from villages in neighbouring Telangana,” he had said.

“Among the 12 adults who lost their lives, five were male and seven female. Four adults had heart-related ailments, one was suffering from an unknown poisoning, one had a liver issue, two were kidney patients, and one case was of complications during pregnancy. There were three accident cases,” the Nanded district administration said in a statement. 

Mumbai:

Slamming the Eknath Shinde government over the death of 24 people, including 12 newborns in 24 hours, National Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar asserted that the incident highlights the failure of government systems and called for a serious response to ensure the safety of patients in the future.

Sharad Pawar took to X and said “The unfortunate incident of death of 24 people including 12 newborns in 24 hours in a government hospital in Nanded is literally shocking.”

The incident was reported at Shankarao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital here due to the alleged scarcity of medicines.

Recalling a similar incident in which 18 people died in Kalwa Hospital of Thane Municipal Corporation, Mr Pawar said, “Just two months ago, there was an unfortunate incident where 18 people died in a single night in Kalwa Hospital of Thane Municipal Corporation. However, due to not taking this incident seriously, such a very serious incident was repeated in the government hospital in Nanded. This shows the failure of government systems.”

Mr Pawar noted that the government’s failure to address the seriousness of that incident led to a similar tragedy in Nanded’s government hospital.

Mr Pawar urged the state government to take immediate and concrete steps to prevent such incidents from recurring, emphasizing the need to save the lives of innocent patients.

“At least considering the seriousness of these unfortunate incidents, the state government needs to ensure that concrete steps are taken so that these incidents are not repeated and the lives of innocent patients are saved,” Sharad Pawar added.

Dr Shyamrao Wakode, in charge dean of the Medical College, said that the deceased were suffering from various ailments including snake bites, arsenic and phosphorus poisoning etc.

“Around 12 children died in the last 24 hours and 12 adults also died due to various ailments (snake bites, arsenic and phosphorus poisoning etc.). Due to transfers of various staff, there was some difficulty for us. We were supposed to buy medicines from the Haffkine Institute but that also didn’t happen. Also, patients come from far off to this hospital and there were many patients whose sanctioned budget also got disturbed,” Dr Shyamrao Wakode said.

Ex-CM and senior Congress leader from Nanded, Ashok Chavan, said that besides these deaths, another 70 patients, referred from other private hospitals in the district, are reported to be ‘critical’.

“Around 24 people’s death has been reported at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Medical College and Hospital and therefore I have come here and met the Dean. The situation is concerning and serious. The government should take this up and provide immediate help…Around 70 other people are critical. Replacement of a lot of nurses who were transferred has not been given,” Mr Chavan said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)