Bhopal: Eight more babies have died in the previous 36 hours at Kamla Nehru Hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, bringing the total number of deaths to 12. A fire broke out in the hospital’s children’s department late Monday, killing four babies at first. Dr. Jyotsna Srivastava, head of department (HOD), Kamla Nehru Hospital’s Pediatrics department, stated, “40 children were admitted at that time and hospital staff immediately evacuated all of them. On that day 4 children died3 and after 36 hours, 8 more children died.”
Dr. Jitendra Shukla, the dean of Gandhi Medical College, Dr. Lokendra Dave, the superintendent of Hamidia Hospital, and Dr. KK Dubey, the director of Kamla Nehru Hospital, have all been removed. Awdhesh Bhadauria, a CPA (Electricity wing) sub engineer, has also been suspended following the incident in the Bhopal hospital.
According to state minister Vishvas Kailash Sarang, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asked all district collectors to evaluate and implement fire and electric safety audits in both private and government hospitals in Madhya Pradesh within the next 10 days. Shivraj Singh Chouhan expressed his condolences for the deaths of children and requested a high-level investigation into the event on Tuesday. ACS Public Health and Medical Education Mohammad Suleman will conduct the probe, he added.
The state of Madhya Pradesh has offered an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 4 lakh to each dead infant’s parents. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan met with state ministers and top health officials earlier on Wednesday to discuss the deaths of four children at a government hospital in Bhopal.