31 deaths in 48 hrs: What happened at Maharashtra hospital?

It’s an indescribable tragedy – 24 patients, including 12 infants, died in 24 hours between 30 September and 1 October at the government-run Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical in Maharashtra’s Nanded. A day later, more deaths have been recorded from the medical facility, taking the toll to 31, including four more children. The incident, has prompted the Eknath Shinde-led government to call for a probe, while the Opposition has trained their guns on him and his administration, terming it as “murder”. But what went wrong? Was it a case of negligence that led to the deaths of the 24 patients? We break it down for you and get you the answers. Hospital speaks The deaths of the now-revised toll of 31 patients that include 16 infants and children – is notably higher than the average daily deaths, approximately 10. Among the 12 adults who died there were four cases of heart disease, one case of poisoning, one case of gastric disease, two cases of kidney disease, one case of obstetric complications and three cases of accidents. Among the child patients, four were in a terminal stage and were referred from private hospitals. The hospital located in the Maharashtra district of Nanded has pegged the deaths to a number of reasons. After the incident came to light, acting dean Dr Shyamrao Wakode from the hospital said: “Around 12 children died in the last 24 hours… 12 adults also died due to various ailments. We were facing some difficulties due to transfers of staff; we were also supposed to buy medicines from the Haffkine Institute, which did not get done. However, we did procure the medicines locally and gave it to the patients.” He added that many of the 12 adult patients were in a precarious condition when they were admitted. “They were from the remote areas of the district and came here in a serious condition.” He further explained that the hospital is a tertiary-level institute and the only place in 70-80 km that can provide medical aid. “Patients come to us from far-off places. On some days, the number of patients increase and it creates a problem for the budget.” Santosh Pandagale, a member of the governing council of the medical college and hospital, told Hindustan Times that the centre was facing problems of shortage of medicine and lack of equipment. “This hospital has a capacity of 500 beds but has 1,200 patients,” he was quoted as saying, adding, “Many machines like the CT scanner are not working because there are no funds for annual maintenance contracts. Several nurses and doctors have been transferred from here but those posts are still vacant. There is a shortage of medicines too. We have raised these issues with the authorities but to no avail.” However, when confronted with the issue of the shortage of medicines, the hospital said in a statement: “Essential medicines are available in the hospital. The hospital has Rs 12 crore in funds. For this financial year, Rs 4 crore has been approved. Other patients are being treated as necessary.” The Maharashtra government, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has ordered for a thorough probe in the deaths of the 24, calling the fatalities “unfortunate”. Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif on Monday night informed the public that an inquiry committee will be appointed for detailed inquiry in the Nanded incident. He added that he would visit the hospital today (3 October) and senior officials have already been instructed to conduct a thorough inquiry. ‘This is murder’ However, the Opposition has trained its guns on the government, calling the incident a murder and a case of negligence. Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (UBT) lambasting the state administration said, “This is shameful, please don’t call them deaths, this is murder due to absolute negligence on the part of the unconstitutional state government. They are so busy planning influencer events or foreign trips that they have forgotten their basic job is to serve the state.”

This is shameful, please don’t call them deaths, this is murder due to absolute negligence on the part of the unconstitutional state government. They are so busy planning influencer events or foreign trips that they have forgotten their basic job is to serve the state. pic.twitter.com/zScvcjw0D4

— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) October 2, 2023

Congress’ Ashok Chavan, also a former chief minister of the state, also highlighted the poor condition of the hospital. Incidentally, the hospital is named after his father and former CM, late Shankarrao Chavan. He stated that immediate action needed to be taken to save the lives of 70 patients who are critical there. “The hospital is grappling with insufficient medical resources and staff shortages. Numerous nurses have been transferred without adequate replacements, and several vital machines are non-operational,” he was quoted as saying.

येथील डॉ. शंकरराव चव्हाण शासकीय वैद्यकीय महाविद्यालय आणि रुग्णालयात सक्षम आरोग्यसेवेअभावी २४ तासांत २४ रुग्णांचा मृत्यु होण्याची घटना गंभीर आहे. त्याची चौकशी झालीच पाहिजे. मात्र, याच रुग्णालयात ७० रुग्ण गंभीर अवस्थेत असून, राज्य सरकारने युद्धपातळीवर निर्णय घेऊन त्या रुग्णांचे… pic.twitter.com/8xet5PAyIH

— Ashok Chavan (@AshokChavan1958) October 2, 2023

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According to an Indian Express report, Chavan also said that the contractor hired to maintain the CT-scanning machine and other equipment had stopped the services because payment as per the agreement had not been made. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule also questioned the administration over the deaths. “This triple engine sarkar is responsible for the death of all 24 innocent lives… I strongly condemn this.” Taking to social media platform X, she wrote: “Allegations suggest that due to a shortage of medicines in the hospital, patients did not receive timely treatment. Does this imply that the value of lives in Maharashtra has depreciated? This scenario reflects a case of negligence and delay, demanding stringent action.” NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar also chimed in, asserting that such an incident highlights the failure of government systems. On X, he said, “The unfortunate incident of death of 24 people including 12 newborns in 24 hours in a government hospital in Nanded is literally shocking.” “Just two months ago, there was an unfortunate incident where 18 people died in a single night in Kalwa Hospital of Thane Municipal Corporation. However, due to not taking this incident seriously, such a very serious incident was repeated in the government hospital in Nanded. This shows the failure of government systems.” [caption id=“attachment_13195982” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde visits the ICU of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj hospital where several people died, at Kalwa in Thane back in August. File image/PTI[/caption] Recalling the Kalwa incident The Nanded incident is not a stray one. In August, a similar tragedy unfolded at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, Thane wherein a total of 18 patients lost their lives in 24 hours. Of the 18, 10 were women. The patients were all suffering from an array of ailments, including complications from kidney stones, chronic paralysis, ulcers, pneumonia, kerosene poisoning, and septicemia. At that time too, the Opposition had questioned the hospital’s functioning and equipment provided to the institute. Maharashtra’s health minister Tanaji Sawant at the time had ordered for a probe and said that the administration would take stringent action against the culprits. He had further added that for the government, the life of every citizen was important, irrespective of the region and city they belonged to. With inputs from agencies