Deaths in the hospital: Two more infants die in Khairpur

Families said that the hospital is short of oxygen and incubators

SUKKUR:

Two more newborns died in Civil Hospital, Khairpur, on Monday, taking the recent toll to seven. Children of Mohammad Asif Shaikh, a resident of Garhi Pull Muhalla, and Nisar Memon of Pir Jo Goth, died in the hospital. Both of them held doctors responsible for the fatalities. They told reporters that doctors and paramedical staff pay least attention to neonates and mothers, due to which such incidents are rampant. They further said that the hospital is short of oxygen and incubators.

When contacted, the medical superintendent of Civil Hospital, Khairpur, Dr Razia Sultana Panhwar, refuted the parents’ claims and said malnutrition and premature births are the key factor behind the newborns’ deaths. Ruling out the shortage of oxygen, she said they have 40 oxygen cylinders in the hospital and that 10 to 15 operations are taking place in the hospital daily, which is not possible without oxygen. According to her, newborn mortality occurs mostly due to malnutrition and premature births. She added that the ratio of such deaths is even more in reputed private hospitals. “All the medical officers in the hospital are honest and dedicated and they are serving the ailing people with utmost dedication,” she claimed. As far as the allegations of absence or negligence levelled against lady doctors, she questioned that if lady doctors are not performing their duty, who is working in the labour room. “The hospital is open for anybody who wants to visit and check the facilities available,” she claimed.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2016.