TDP, MIM, women activists protest deaths; PG docs on strike

Hyderabad, Jun 15 (UNI) Tension prevailed in Niloufer Hospital today, when women activists and Telugu Desam Party members staged a dharna and MIM members broke glasspanes protesting against the death of six children died due to alleged negligence of doctors.

In the wake of the disturbance, PG doctors of the hospital struck work seeking proper security and objecting to the conduct of some of the attendants of the patients and the families of the victims. The doctors took up the issue with the hospital authorities.

Chaitanya Mahila activists staged a dharna before the hospital and demanded suspension of Hospital Superintendent N C K Reddy. They stressed that a Blood Bank should be set up at the hospital.

TDP activists led by their city president and MLA Sayyanna visited the hospital and took stock of the situation.

Talking to the media, Mr Sayyanna said Niloufer Hospital did not have minimum facilities. He said he would bring it to the notice of the Chief Minister. 'There should a separate Minister for Health, as Mr Rosaiah is already burdened with the Finance Ministry', he said.

Later in the day, Majlis Ittehedul Muslimeen (MIM) MLAs Mauzham Khan and Afsar Khan and other MIM activists came to the hospital.

When they were stopped from entering as a group they allegedly broke the glasspane of the main entrance to the hospital. The MIM MLAs took up the issue of caring for children with the hospital authorities.

Speaking to reporters, Mr Mauzham Khan demanded that doctors responsible for the death of the six children should be suspended and an enquiry ordered into the deaths. The security system at the hospital should also be changed.

Hospital superintendent-in-charge Dr Prabhavathi said children from distant places were brought to the hospital at last stages of illness, which was why they tended to pass away. The total hospital bed strength was 350 but on any given day admissions would be 600.

'In any critical care unit of a children's hospital, for every one patient there would be one nurse and in normal wards for every three patients one nurse. In our hospital for every 10 patients, one nurse is there and sometimes patient numbers go up in all wards. We have sent lot of proposals to the government on this', she explained.

Asked about the PG doctors on strike in the hospital, she said it would be solved at earliest.

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