Ludhiana: Five newborns died at the mother and childcare unit of the Ludhiana Civil Hospital on Sunday due to alleged unavailability of gynecologists and adequate infrastructure.
Four deliveries were conducted by staff nurses and the fifth one by a gynecologist who was not on duty and was called from home. The hospital was inaugurated last week by Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani.        Â
Families alleged the “process of delivery” were carried out by “class IV employees in the absence of gynecologists”.
Ludhiana Civil Hospital head Subash Batta said that four kids died at the time of delivery with the hospital having denied any negligence on its part. “Babies died during the process of delivery,” hospital’s gynecologist head Alka Mittal said.
Mittal said that the pregnant women were being shifted to the old wing of the hospital as the Operation Theatre in the new mother-child wing was not functional. Batta said an inquiry has been initiated into the matter.
Jiyani has issued a show-cause notice to doctor after a patient informed the minister of the doctor’s absence during OPD hours. The hospital was set up to provide free health care to expecting mothers from poor families. Infant mortality rate in Punjab is 26 per 1000 live births and the newborn mortality rate is 21 per 1000 live births.
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