SARGODHA:
Eight of the newly-born children – being treated in the nursery of Sargodha’s District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital – died within a span of 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday.
Claiming that the children died due to insufficient oxygen supply and doctors’ negligence, the parents have held the DHQ hospital’s administration responsible for the tragedy.
However, the Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Aqib Nazir Naikokara said the hospital has central oxygen system and there is no deficiency of the gas in any ward.
“More than 50 children were present in the 25-bed nursery,” he said, while accepting that on average more than 50 children died every month in the DHQ because of inadequate facilities.
Sargodha’s District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Manan said six out of the eight children were born prematurely and their weight was less than 1.3kg. “None of them were born at the DHQ,” he added.
Taking notice of the incident, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has formed a high level inquiry committee – headed by General Health Services Punjab Director Dr Muhammad Jameel – that will visit the hospital and inspect the apparatus and other services to determine the cause of deaths.
The district government has also formed a three-member investigation committee to probe the matter. Following the incident, Adviser to the CM Khwaja Salman Rafique visited the hospital and examined various wards including the nursery.
Rafique said the investigation committee would send its report to the CM on Friday. According to preliminary investigation, he said, all equipment at the hospital are in good shape.
“However, action will be taken against doctors and administration if negligence is proved,” he said.
The adviser assured that health facilities in Sargodha were going to be upgraded after construction of a new building for DHQ Sargodha. “The Punjab CM has called a special meeting on Friday to take decision regarding construction of the hospital,” he said.
He said the hospital administration desired that there should be nurseries in the private hospitals to share the burden of the DHQ. “An action will be taken against the hospitals that do not follow the recommendations of the Health Care Commission,” he added.
The hospital’s nursery ward is the only infant care facility in the whole Sargodha Division and children from Khushab, Bhakkar and Mianwali are also brought there for treatment. No private hospital in Sargodha offers nursery facility for the newborns.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 20th, 2014.
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