Sudden rise in deaths real or a deliberate distortion!

The Hitavada Team

Factual statistics available from major Government hospitals in Maharashtra reveal that the current large numbers of deaths reported in the last 72 hours do not suggest any unusual spurt in fatalities, but only indicate that the daily figures have been distorted as if deliberately by vested interests to create a grotesque picture of utter medical negligence. There is enough evidence to believe that the version of the Dean of the Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital is accurate when he said that there was no medical negligence and no shortage of medicines at any stage and that the numbers of deaths too do not suggest any unusual hike in the daily reportage. This appears to be also the case with the number of deaths at two Government-run hospitals in the State’s Second Capital (Nagpur). Even as reports spread that the two hospitals reported as many as 23 deaths in 24 hours of October 3-4, authorities insisted that their facilities regularly report those many fatalities on a daily basis, thanks to the high number of beds they have under their roofs. The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at Nagpur reported 14 deaths in the 24 hours on October 3-4 while the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) reported 9 deaths. These numbers match with the daily reportings on deaths for years, as the hospital authorities insisted, indicating that there was nothing unusual happening in their precincts.

These figures were shared by the authorities of these hospitals close on the heels of the death of 31 patients in 48 hours at Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded between September 30 and October 2, and 18 deaths at a Government-run hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. GMCH Dean Dr Raj Gajbhiye said the hospital has a capacity of 1,900 beds and the death of average 10 to 12 patients is reported there daily. “The patients who die at the hospital are mostly those who are last-minute referrals and requiring Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Such patients are brought to the GMCH in a critical condition,” he said. Patients are admitted to the hospital from across central India, he added. Similarly, Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) in the city reported nine deaths in 24 hours, its senior official said. “The deceased patients included mostly who were brought there in a critical condition. These included patients who required ventilator support,” the official told PTI, adding that patients from across the Vidarbha region are admitted to the hospital. The IGGMCH has a capacity of 800 beds and it reports the death of average six patients daily, the official said. “The hospital has sufficient stock of medicines and other facilities,” the official said.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule highlighted the new deaths in a X post on Wednesday morning, saying “Fear does not end here” and the “health system has collapsed and the Government is sleeping”. “After the Thane, Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (incidents), now 23 patients also died in Nagpur. CM, Deputy CM have time to visit New Delhi, but no time to visit these hospitals,” said Sule. She alleged that for these leaders, the lives of people of Maharashtra have no worth, and there is a shortage of medical supplies. Meanwhile, the toll in Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital (Nanded) shot up to 35, in the Ghati Hospital (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) climbed from 10 to 18, according to officials. With the latest spike in the deaths, in three days, in three Government hospitals in three districts, at least 78 persons, including nearly 30 infants, have died owing to different lapses including alleged shortages of medicines, equipment, medical or paramedical staffers. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed the media that a probe has been ordered into the Nanded hospital tragedy and after its report is received, stringent punishment will be given to those found guilty.