No paediatrician, 3 newborn die in a day

Mukesh Tandon

Tribune News Service

Panipat, January 30

The special neonatal care unit (SNCU) at the general hospital here is without any paediatrician and ventilator. Three neonates died here on Monday, while 33 had died in  2018.

Last year saw the unit virtually turn into a referral centre with 351 neonates being referred to other hospitals due to lack of amenities.

Reena, wife of Chanderlal of Khojkipur village, gave birth to twins — boy and girl — on January 24. As per record, the delivery was premature and the weight of kids was 1.3 kg and 1.2 kg, respectively.

SNCU medical officer Dr Ekta Bathla said one child had a congenital deformity as its one foot had not developed while both kids suffered from respiratory distress. They died on Monday night.

Another newborn, child of Mehroon of Garhi Besak village, was shifted to SNCU in a serious condition on Monday night. He died in the wee hours on Tuesday.

The SNCU has been functioning without any paediatrician for the past two months while it was mandatory to have a paediatrician and two doctors on round-the-clock duty here. Only four nurses are posted here against the required strength of eight.

Paediatrician-cum-incharge of SNCU Dr Dinesh Dahiya was suspended in connection with a criminal case last year, while paediatrician Dr Niharika is on child-care leave. Dr Alok Jain has become Medical Superintendent (MS) due to which there is no paediatrician at the hospital now. It is being run under the supervision of three doctors—two of them on contract. Dr Ekta said, “Though we try to provide proper care to the newborn, the non-availability of any paediatrician has made things difficult. In many cases, we have no option but to refer serious patients to other hospitals.”

MS Dr Alok Jain said low weight and respiratory distress were the main reasons behind the death of the three newborns at the centre recently. Officiating Civil Surgeon Dr Naveen Suneja said, “We have advertised for the paediatrician’s post twice, but no doctor seems ready to join on a monthly salary of Rs 80,000. I have talked to the higher-ups and we will advertise for the post once again.”