At least 90 newborns have died in SNR District Hospital – some 60 km away from Bengaluru – in Karnataka’s Kolar district this year.
The shocking number of deaths was revealed by the Karnataka Health Department to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after he sought a report on Monday, following the deaths of three newborns.
The health department claimed that the deaths were not due to medical negligence, but owing to the medical condition of infants at birth. However, during inspection by the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission recently, the hospital did not even have electricity.
We have sufficient staff in the hospital. Four paediatricians are working at the hospital, and there is no dearth of drugs and equipment. Children born with congenital anomaly and low birth weight carry the risk of mortality.Health department report
More Than 11,000 Infant Deaths in Karnataka in 2016-17
The report further added that the deaths were proportionate to the increase in the number of deliveries in the hospital. From 150 deliveries a month in 2015, the hospital is now conducting 350 deliveries. The hospital had recorded 82 infant deaths in 2016, reported The Hindu.
While the department insisted that deaths were due to low birth rates and congenial anomalies, a Times of India report said not all deaths were due to medical conditions that children were born with, but were on account of the unhygienic environment. The death report of two infants show sepsis as the cause. Sepsis is an infection caused due to the spread of unclean handlers and labour rooms, stated the report.
Karnataka recorded 11,212 infant deaths in 2016-17.
North Karnataka district of Belgaum recorded the highest number of infant mortality cases with 1,049 deaths, followed by Kalaburgi at 817 and Vijayapura at 726. Among these, 3,235 infants died between 29 days to 1 year.
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