Kolkata: Parents blame hospital staff for infants' death

Kolkata, Jul 1: A striking news that once again thrashed the Bengal's medical system was when the death of 18 infants in Kolkata's B C Roy hospital came to light.

Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also the state's Health Minister, has set up an enquiry committee into the cause of deaths and sought the report in 24 hours. The figure was released by the Chief Minister's office on Thursday, Jun 30.

She said, "I have come to know that the babies were brought to the hospital at the last stage and that the cause of death was not enteric disease. I have ordered a probe and asked the authorities to submit a report to me."

"If there is any negligence on anyone's part, whoever it is, I will not spare them. Also, I will not consider any body's political affiliation," she added.

The furious parents of the infants strongly blamed the medical staffs for their negligence. They smashed hospital furniture and blocked a road for close to an hour, triggering a police lathicharge on Thursday, Jun 30.

According to one of the local newspapers in Bengal, four of the infants were being treated in the same hospital, whereas the other babies were referred to B C Roy by other hospitals.

Parents of nine-month-old Aryan Gazi said, "I begged the doctors to help my son, I fell at his feet. But the doctors didn't listen. I was crying. My son died." The doctors, however, denied allegations that there has been negligence on the hospital's part.

The Superintendent of the B C Roy Hospital, D Pal told that the babies who had died were either pre-mature or suffering from septicemia or low-birth weight problems.

OneIndia News